Former Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, Senator Ayo Arise, has declared that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is on course for victory in the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election despite what he described as an average voter turnout across parts of the state.
Arise, who spoke with journalists shortly after casting his vote in Oye-Ekiti on Saturday, said the election had so far been peaceful, orderly and hitch-free, expressing confidence that the APC would comfortably retain power.
According to him, although the turnout at his polling unit was lower than expected, there was no serious challenge to the APC’s dominance in the state.
“The election was very peaceful, very smooth and quick too,” Arise said.
“But I am not too sure whether we had the kind of crowd we expected. At my polling unit, I have seen longer queues in previous elections. The turnout I witnessed was around average—not too poor, but certainly not exceptionally high.
“In fact, I expected more in terms of the support base of the APC, but at the end of the day, I believe there is really no serious competition for APC in this election.”
The former lawmaker noted that while the party hoped for a massive turnout, the most important thing was securing victory at the end of the exercise.
“I’m not sure we’ve ever delivered 500,000 votes in any election in contemporary times. It is an aspiration; something we are praying and looking forward to. If we don’t make it, it would not be an indictment. It would simply mean we need to work harder to encourage greater participation in future elections,” he added.
Also speaking after voting at his polling unit in Isan-Ekiti, former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the smooth conduct of the election.
Fayemi described the accreditation and voting process as seamless and praised election officials for their professionalism.
“It was a smooth experience. Everything went reasonably well. The accreditation process was fast and seamless, and I could see that it was the same for my wife,” he said.
“I want to commend the team working for INEC on this occasion. It’s not always been the case that things would be this smooth. So, at least on the technical side, it would appear to have been a process that was seamless.”
The former governor also addressed concerns over an incident that occurred in the community on the eve of the election, insisting that it had no political undertone and did not affect the voting process.
“Despite the unfortunate incident that we experienced here last night, which had nothing to do with politics, the process has been well ordered,” Fayemi stated.
He explained that the incident involved a disagreement between two individuals and should not be linked to the governorship election.
“This is ordinarily a peaceful community. We have a lot at stake because their son was the immediate past governor of the state, and we played our own role in putting the current governor in office. So we are critical stakeholders, but we are also a peaceful community.
“What happened was unfortunate. It was an altercation between two individuals that had absolutely nothing to do with politics or the election.”
Fayemi disclosed that senior police authorities had assured him that a thorough investigation was underway to identify and prosecute anyone found culpable.
“I have been reasonably assured by the police authority, right up to the level of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, that serious steps are being taken to investigate the matter and ensure that whoever is culpable is brought to book.
“We don’t want anything of the sort to lead to a degeneration of peace in our community. We will continue to look at it in a manner that complete and wholesome peace will return to the community,” he said.
As voting continued peacefully across the state, political stakeholders and observers expressed optimism that the election would be concluded without major incidents.
