Yiaga Africa has announced plans to deploy a total of 272 election observers across all 16 local government areas of Ekiti State ahead of the June 20 governorship election.
The organisation said the move is aimed at strengthening transparency and ensuring credible conduct during the poll.
The Head of Knowledge Management and Learning at Yiaga Africa, Safiya Bichi, made the announcement in Ado-Ekiti during a Civil Society and Media Roundtable discussion.
According to her, the deployment will include 250 stationary observers stationed at selected polling units and 22 roving observers who will move across different locations in the state.
Bichi explained that the observers will monitor key stages of the electoral process, including the distribution of sensitive materials, voting procedures, vote counting, collation, and final results management.
She added that the engagement with stakeholders was designed to promote collaboration ahead of the election and identify areas that may require urgent attention.
“Yiaga Africa will deploy 250 stationary observers to sampled polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state.
”We will also observe collation processes at the local government and state levels.”
She added,“In addition, we will deploy 22 roving observers across all the local government areas.
”Our observers will monitor the deployment of sensitive materials to Registration Area Centres (RACs), opening of polls, voting, counting, collation and result management processes.
Bichi also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure professionalism and improve logistics during the election.
“For INEC, our message is to be professional and improve on logistics. The commission must ensure proper implementation of the Electoral Act and its guidelines,” she said.
She further called on security agencies to remain neutral and protect all stakeholders involved in the process, including voters, election officials, journalists, observers, and political actors.
Political parties, she warned, must avoid violence and encourage peaceful participation, stressing that elections should not be treated as a “do-or-die” affair.
She also appealed to voters, particularly young people, to come out and participate actively in the election.
“If you do not vote, someone else will decide on your behalf. We must reject the narrative that votes do not count,” she said.
Bichi added that voter participation remains essential to strengthening democracy, noting that politicians’ interest in votes shows their importance in determining outcomes.
“If votes did not count, politicians would not be interested in buying them. People should vote according to their conscience and contribute to strengthening democracy.”
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti State Council, Kayode Babatuyi, pledged stronger efforts to tackle fake news and curb the activities of unqualified journalists during the election period.
He described the media as a key pillar in ensuring transparency and credibility in the electoral process, urging journalists to adhere strictly to professional ethics.
Similarly, the Executive Director of Disability Not A Barrier Initiative (DINABI), Olajide Funsho Benjamin, encouraged Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) to actively participate in the election and reject voter apathy.
