ADO-EKITI — The National Peace Committee has expressed serious concern that escalating incidents of vote-buying, politically motivated violence, and worsening insecurity could undermine the credibility and overall legitimacy of the Ekiti State governorship election slated for June 20, 2026.

The warning was delivered over the weekend in Ado-Ekiti during a three-day Stakeholders’ Validation Forum convened by the committee through its secretariat, The Kukah Centre. Addressing participants at the gathering, the Senior Programme Manager of the Centre, Esrom Ajanya, explained that the forum was organised as part of efforts to reinforce peaceful conduct, encourage issue-driven campaigns, and promote a more transparent electoral process in the lead-up to the governorship poll.

Ajanya stated that the validation exercise, supported financially by the European Union, is aimed at deepening community participation in identifying and assessing potential electoral risks. He noted that the initiative seeks to enhance local ownership of the risk evaluation process while also producing practical, actionable recommendations to prevent election-related violence before, during, and after the polls.

According to him, the process involves close observation of the political climate and systematic evaluation of security trends through a specialised mechanism known as the Election Security Information Hub. He explained that this hub is designed to generate a detailed contextual analysis of Ekiti State’s political landscape, which will guide the Peace Committee’s strategic engagement with critical actors across the entire electoral value chain — including political parties, security agencies, civil society groups, and electoral officials.

Ajanya emphasised that while June 20 has been officially designated for the governorship election, it is not enough to merely adhere to timelines and procedural benchmarks outlined in the electoral calendar. He noted that although electoral authorities may successfully check off required steps and milestones, procedural compliance alone does not automatically translate into a credible election.

He stressed the need to look beyond surface-level adherence to guidelines and interrogate the substantive quality of the process. This, he said, involves examining deeper issues such as the impact of insecurity on voter turnout, the extent of grassroots mobilisation, the tone and content of political campaigns, and the level of meaningful citizen engagement.

With the state already in the campaign season, Ajanya added that the committee is closely tracking the intensity of political participation and evaluating whether campaigns are focused on policy issues or being overshadowed by inducements and threats. He reiterated that safeguarding the integrity of the Ekiti governorship election requires not just following laid-down procedures, but ensuring that the spirit of democracy — transparency, fairness, and peaceful competition — is genuinely upheld.