PREDICTIONS AND OUTCOMES OF THE 2018 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Politics in Ekiti State since return of democratic rule in 1999 has been characterized with swings in political behavior in support of the two major political parties, Alliance for Democracy (AD), now All People’s Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The 2018 election was massively predicted in favour of the PDP candidate who was the incumbent Deputy Governor, vigorously campaigned for by the governor, Ayo Fayose, who had once defeated the APC candidate (the then sitting governor) in all the 16 local governments. This study accounts for the disparity in the electorates’ predictions and outcomes of the election. Both primary and secondary sources of data were employed. Questionnaire were used to sample the opinion of Ekiti residents who were of voting age (18 and above). Also, official records and archives were used to gauge the predictions and outcomes of the election. Primary data gathered were analysed with simple percentages while secondary data were descriptively analysed. The study discovered that poverty, coupled with the uncared attitude of security agents, allowed for manipulations which accounts for the differences in the predictions and outcomes of the election. The study recommends fair play and politics devoid of violence, harassment and intimidation.