By Abiodun Folarin (From Ado Ekiti)
WorldStage– Voting commenced peacefully across several polling units in Ekiti State on Saturday, with electoral officials, security personnel and voters demonstrating readiness for the conduct of the election.
WorldStage correspondent visit to Polling Unit 30 located at the AB Event Centre along Adebayo Road at about 8:08 a.m. showed that voters had started arriving to cast their ballots ahead of the commencement of voting.
The Presiding Officer, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), briefed voters and party agents on the voting procedure in both English and Yoruba to ensure proper understanding of the electoral process.
At the time of filing this report, 11 voters had already arrived at the polling unit, which has 735 registered voters. Voting officially commenced at 8:30 a.m.
At Polling Unit 053, located at an open space in Ori-Apata, Ward 09, opposite the State Hospital in Ado Local Government Area, voters turned out in large numbers to exercise their civic responsibility.
The polling unit has 342 registered voters, while the voting process was observed to be orderly and peaceful. Security operatives were also present to maintain law and order and ensure the smooth conduct of the election.
Similarly, a large turnout of voters was recorded at Polling Unit 007 situated in front of Fajuyi’s House in Okesa, Ward 010, where 1,030 voters are registered.
However, officials encountered challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in capturing the biometric details of some elderly voters. One such case involved 90-year-old Mrs. Adesomo Afolabi, whose facial image and fingerprints could not be successfully captured by the device during the accreditation process.
Meanwhile, at Polling Unit 20, Ayelabola Compound, Ward A, in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area, the election process was also reported to be peaceful.
The polling unit has 448 registered voters, with voters conducting themselves in an orderly manner as voting continued
Voting has commenced at PU open space beside friendly hotel, Adebayo Road,Ade Ekiti with 692 registered voters .
