Election begins by INEC as scheduled in Ekiti

The Ekiti State Governorship Poll holding across 2,445 Polling Units in 16 Local Government Areas of the State began as scheduled in almost all the 177 electoral wards.

Several Polling Units visited by the reporters deployed to cover the poll by BusinessDay indicated that election began as scheduled with INEC officers and Youth Corp members seen conducting the voting process while combined security forces, including Police, NSCDC and others were seen manning the process.

At the AB Event Centre along Adebayo Road in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Capital, of 8:08am, voters had begun turning out to cast their votes.

The Presiding Officer, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), had already briefed the voters and party agents on the voting procedure in both English and Yoruba to ensure proper understanding.

At Polling Unit 30, Open Space, Opposite State Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, first vote cast at 9:08, recording large turnout of voters.

BusinessDay reports that though 13 political parties initially fielded candiates for the Governorship election, four candidates, namely, the incumbent governor, Biodun Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Wole Oluyede of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwadare Bejide of African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Opeyemi Falegan of Accord Party, stand out among the candidates.