Ekiti Decides: Gov Sani Declares Poll Peaceful Despite Vote-Buying Claims

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has described the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election as peaceful, transparent and orderly despite allegations of vote-buying in some parts of the state.

Sani, who serves as Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Campaign Council for the 2026 Ekiti Governorship Election, made the remarks during an interview with Arise Television on Saturday.

The governor said reports reaching him from across the state indicated that the electoral process was progressing smoothly.

“I’ve gone round some of the local governments out of the 16 local governments,” Sani said.

“I have gotten reports in all of the 177 polling units. I can assure you that the election, so far, is going very well, very peaceful, transparent and, of course, the people are working together with the relevant security agencies.”

His comments came amid allegations of vote-buying and other electoral malpractices raised by opposition parties and election observers.

The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ambassador Dare Bejide, alleged after casting his vote at Oke Adura Polling Unit in Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti South-West Local Government Area, that members of the APC were distributing cash to voters at the polling centre.

Reports from election observers also indicated alleged attempts to induce voters in some locations.

In separate observations from Ise-Ekiti and Emure-Ekiti, party agents were reportedly seen distributing numbered slips to voters after voting, with the numbers allegedly linked to later payments.

Earlier in the day, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were sighted at the polling unit of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, fuelling speculation that the anti-graft agency was monitoring compliance with electoral laws and investigating potential vote-buying activities.

Despite the allegations, Sani expressed confidence that the APC would emerge victorious in the election.

According to him, the ruling party remains optimistic of securing about 500,000 votes from the more than one million registered voters in the state.