Osun Election: Yiaga Africa raises concern over INEC, security agencies, public confidence

A civil society organisation, CSO, Yiaga Africa, has raised concerns over electoral preparedness, neutrality of security agencies and public confidence ahead of the Osun State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2026.

Yiaga Africa raised the concern at a pre-election press conference held in Osogbo on Thursday.

Addressing journalists, the duo of Dr. Asmau Maikudi, Chair, 2026 Osun Election Observation Mission and Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, said the election would be a major test for the Independent National Electoral Commission’s, INEC, and the resilience of voters.

Yiaga Africa, through its Watching the Vote, WTV, initiative, said the poll would also provide an early assessment of innovations introduced under the Electoral Act 2026, including downloadable Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, and electronic management of polling-unit results.

“INEC has made progress with preparations across the state, including voter registration activities, recruitment and training of officials, BVAS configuration, mock accreditation and stakeholder engagement,” Yiaga Africa said.

INEC is expected to conduct the election across 3,763 polling units in 30 Local Government Areas, using 4,427 BVAS devices, with 2,339,233 registered voters eligible to participate.

However, Yiaga Africa said technical challenges recorded during mock accreditation remain a concern.

It warned that some BVAS devices temporarily failed to recognise voters’ fingerprints, facial features and older PVC records.

“Unresolved failures could cause delays and disenfranchisement, Yiaga Africa added.

The organisation also expressed concern over the late inclusion of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, candidate, Dr Francis Olugbenga Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, following a Federal High Court judgment.

It said the resulting reprinting of ballot papers and result sheets had compressed INEC’s deployment timetable.

“The revised election materials are expected to arrive in Osun on August 13 for distribution to the 30 local government areas. INEC should activate contingency logistics arrangements to prevent delays and ensure that all materials reach polling units before voting begins,” the statement added.

On security, the organisation called on security agencies to maintain strict neutrality and professionalism, stressing that personnel must respect the rights of voters, accredited observers and media practitioners to freedom of movement on Election Day.

It urged security agencies to coordinate effectively with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to tackle vote-buying and other electoral offences, while ensuring that arrests and enforcement were conducted impartially.

Yiaga Africa also called on political parties and candidates to honour the Peace Accord, refrain from vote-buying and inflammatory rhetoric, and urge their supporters to remain peaceful.

It encouraged civil society organisations to intensify voter education and urged citizens to reject attempts to buy their votes.

The organisation said it would deploy 300 stationary observers and 32 mobile observers across all 30 local government areas under its Process and Results Verification for Transparency methodology.

“We will use ERAD 2.0 to independently monitor results uploaded to INEC’s IReV portal, assess the availability and completeness of result sheets, and provide evidence-based verification of the electoral process,” it added.