By Ngozi Nwankwo
Civil society organizations,CSOs, have raised concerns over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s,INEC, preparedness for the June 20, 2026, Ekiti State governorship election, warning that delays in releasing election funds could compromise the poll’s credibility.
The CSOs, under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Phase Two (EU-SDGN II) programme, said this during presentation of a pre-election assessment report.
The group worried over INEC’s 34 percent operational preparedness rate across Ekiti’s 16 local government offices as of April 14, 2026.
CSOs said that while activities such as Continuous Voter Registration, BVAS inventory checks, network mapping and stakeholder engagements were ongoing, the commission had yet to receive election funding, with several offices, collation centres and operational vehicles also requiring urgent rehabilitation.
“Despite ongoing activities, the commission has yet to receive election funding, and several offices, collation centres, and operational vehicles require urgent rehabilitation,” said Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Centre.
They also identified vote buying, political thuggery, and misinformation as major threats, with Ado-Ekiti, Ikole, Moba, and Ilejemeje classified as high-risk zones.
The CSOs also criticized the N5 million campaign signage levy, which they said disproportionately affects opposition parties.
Arogundade said that although the political atmosphere in Ekiti State remains largely peaceful, the election is widely viewed as lacking competitiveness due to the dominance of incumbency, weak opposition structures and increasing voter apathy.
He cautioned against equating the calm political climate with democratic progress.
“The credibility of the election will be determined not only by the absence of violence, but also by the transparency, inclusiveness and public acceptance of the outcome,” he said.
While speaking on the recommendations, Executive Director of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Brenda Anugwom, said the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, remained the most critical institution at this stage of the electoral process.
She urged the commission to urgently release and efficiently utilise election funds, test the BVAS and IReV systems, intensify voter education and improve accessibility for women, youths and persons with disabilities.
Security agencies were also urged to ensure professionalism, neutrality and intelligence-led deployment during the election, while political parties were advised to embrace issue-based campaigns and reject vote-buying and violence.
The Election Observation Hub said it would deploy both long-term and short-term observers across Ekiti State to monitor the electoral process ahead of the poll.
