Ekiti Elect: 6 Governors visit Ekiti

Ahead of Ekiti election, no fewer than six governors and three diplomats yesterday stormed the ‘Fountain of Knowledge’, in a renewal of hostilities that is replica of the 2014 battle between the incumbent governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose and his predecessor in office, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. 

The electorate in the state would be casting their ballot amid a tense atmosphere to be witnessed by some diplomats, including the US ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington and the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Paul Arkwright, as well as governors Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, Yahya Bello of Kogi and Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom as well as two unidentified governors.

 Though Fayose is not on the ballot, having exhausted his constitutionally guaranteed two-terms, he is backing his deputy, Professor Olusola Eleka, whom he had heavily thrown his weight behind. 

Today’s polls is reminiscent of the election that brought in Fayose to office, judging by the divisive campaigns which sometimes turned violent, prompting an heavy deployment of security operatives across the state. About 30, 000 policemen had been deployed to maintain law and order before and after the election even as security had been a major point of contention in the last few days.

Apart from the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Operations, there are also an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, four commissioners of police, eight deputy commissioners and 18 assistant commissioners. 

The personnel and units comprised of Police Mobile Force (PMF) Units, Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), the Special Protection Unit (SPU), the Anti Bomb Squad (EOD), Conventional Policemen, the Armament Unit, personnel of FCIID and the sniffer dogs section. Other deployments by the police include two Patrol Surveillance Helicopters, five additional Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), 10 Armoured Personnel Vehicles and 250 patrol vehicles with additional 4,390 combined forces of soldiers and other paramilitary outfits.