The Commissioner of Police in charge of the 2026 Ekiti governorship election Abayomi Shogunle has confirmed a significant and sustained turnout of voters across polling units in the state.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday morning, Abayomi Shogunle said accreditation and voting had commenced promptly at 08:30 local time across all local government areas.
“There is a high turnout of voters, which is quite different from what we have witnessed in some previous elections,” Mr. Shogunle said, noting that voters had not merely arrived in a brief rush at dawn but had continued to stream in throughout the morning.
He attributed the high numbers to a surge in public trust ahead of the polls. “This confirms the findings of our pre-election assessment, during which voters expressed a high level of confidence in the security arrangements.”
The atmosphere across the state was described by authorities as largely peaceful, though the police chief acknowledged that several high-risk “flashpoints” remained a concern.
“Yes, there are flashpoints. There are areas of interest where we have heightened security concerns,” Mr. Shogunle confirmed, adding that “adequate resources” had been deployed to those locations to preempt any violence.
The election has however not been entirely free of controversy. When pressed on emerging allegations that some police officers had not been paid their allowances, the Commissioner issued a firm denial.
“That is not true. I will not accept that allegation,” he said. He also stated that no formal complaints of electoral fraud had been registered by mid-morning.
“As we speak… we have not received any reports of vote-buying or related incidents,” Mr. Shogunle said.
