INEC Assures Osun Governorship Election Will Be Peaceful

By Ayodele Oni

As the August 15 Governorship Election in Osun State gathers momentum, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, (SAN), on Saturday declared the Commission’s readiness for the election, assuring voters that the democratic process would not be undermined by violence or intimidation.

Prof. Amupitan gave the assurance during a media briefing at the end of a five-day readiness assessment tour of the state, following the commission’s statewide mock accreditation exercise conducted across selected polling units in the three senatorial districts.

The INEC chairman revealed that the exercise, which tested the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), confirmed the commission’s technological and operational preparedness for the election.

According to him, the mock accreditation demonstrated improved voter verification, with most accreditations completed through facial recognition within seconds, while technical issues identified during the exercise were promptly resolved by the commission’s ICT team.

“The mock accreditation exercise is our quality control protocol. What we saw today confirmed that our technological defence against identity theft and result manipulation is robust and fully operational.”

To strengthen election-day operations, the INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had increased the number of BVAS devices for the election from 4,427 to 5,130, while backup devices had been doubled from 664 to 1,328 to ensure quick replacement in the event of malfunction.

He confirmed that 2,339,233 eligible voters would participate in the election across 3,763 polling units in 332 wards spread across the state’s 30 local government areas, adding that the training of 16,374 ad hoc staff was nearing completion.

Amupitan noted that all 14 political parties contesting the election had signed the Peace Accord facilitated by the National Peace Committee,

On security, he said INEC had adopted a proactive approach through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), with intelligence-led deployments planned for identified flashpoints across the state.

The commission, he added, had also intensified collaboration with security agencies to tackle vote buying and other electoral offences.

He added that the commission’s readiness assessment also included engagements with traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife and the Ataoja of Osogbo, who pledged to mobilise their subjects for peaceful participation in the election.

He further stated that meetings were held with transport unions to finalise logistics arrangements, while inspection visits to local government offices confirmed that non-sensitive election materials had been deployed ahead of the poll.

Calling on journalists to support credible elections, Amupitan urged the media to verify information before publication and avoid spreading misinformation capable of creating unnecessary panic among voters.

In another development, Stakeholders and concerned residents of Osun State have expressed worry over the inability of candidates in the August 15, 2026 governorship election to participate in a debate that would highlight their agenda ahead of the poll.

The people of the state had looked forward to the Osun 2026 Governorship Debate scheduled for Saturday, August 1, 2026, in Osogbo. But, the organisers announced the cancellation of the debate owing to “security concerns and reluctance of candidates to participate.”

According to the organisers of the debate which comprise of some private media organisations in the state, the decision was unanimously reached “following unfavourable security reports and the reluctance of some of the leading governorship candidates to participate under the prevailing circumstances.”

It was expected to feature the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress, African Democratic Congress, Accord Party.