Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has expressed delight over the impressive turnout of voters across the 16 local government areas of the state, describing the ongoing election as peaceful and orderly.
The governor, who cast his vote at about 11:30 a.m. at Okelele Ward 6, Unit 3 in Ekiti West Local Government Area, said reports reaching him from across the state indicated that the electoral process had been smooth and hitch-free.
Oyebanji commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for their conduct so far, while also appealing to residents to remain patient with the electoral body over minor challenges encountered during the exercise.
“The report across the state has been positive. The election is going on smoothly, people are exercising their franchise and they are happy. The turnout is impressive and I’m glad that people are listening to my call that they must come out and exercise their franchise,” he said.
The governor noted that citizens now understand the connection between their votes and their future, adding that the peaceful conduct of the election was encouraging.
“This is because there’s a link between what is happening today and their future. So far, so good, everything has been going smoothly. But I also need to appeal to our people to be patient with INEC.
“You know with all processes there will be glitches and they have assured me, and I believe them, that all those glitches will be attended to. I just appeal to our people to exercise caution. They have told me that nobody will be disenfranchised,” Oyebanji added.
Reacting to allegations of intimidation raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, the governor dismissed the claims as mere allegations, insisting that proof must be provided.
“He who alleges must prove, so it remains in the realm of an allegation,” he stated.
Speaking on the 500,000 votes target reportedly set by his party, Oyebanji expressed confidence that the benchmark would be achieved if the electoral process continued smoothly.
“We are going to get that. We should, if the processes work well and everybody votes, we should cross that mark,” the governor said.
