The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies on Sunday assured residents of Osun State that the August 15 governorship election would be free, fair, credible and secure despite the theft of an unspecified number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from a distribution centre in Odo-Otin Local Government Area.
The assurance was given during the Osun Decides 2026 Citizens’ Town Hall Meeting, organised by the Civil Society Network on Election Integrity in Osogbo.
Speaking at the event, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun State, Dr. Oluwatoyin Babalola, confirmed that hoodlums attacked a PVC distribution centre in Ward 2 of Odo-Otin earlier on Sunday and carted away some voter cards.
She, however, said investigations were ongoing and cautioned against concluding that the incident would compromise the integrity of the election.
“This is a very wrong allegation that is not founded,” Babalola said, noting that the attackers did not take all the PVCs at the affected distribution centre.
The REC said INEC remained fully on course with preparations for the election, explaining that of the commission’s 13 scheduled pre-election activities, only electioneering campaigns and the conduct of the poll remained outstanding.
She disclosed that all non-sensitive election materials had been received and distributed across the state’s 30 local government areas, registration areas and polling units, while sensitive materials would arrive during election week.
According to her, the Continuous Voter Registration exercise increased Osun’s voter register from 1,954,800 to 2,339,233 registered voters.
She added that INEC is currently distributing 52,622 newly produced PVCs, with 19,702 cards, representing about 37.5 per cent, already collected within the first four days of distribution.
Babalola said PVC collection at registration areas would end on July 28, after which uncollected cards would be moved to INEC local government offices until August 7.
Addressing concerns over the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the REC dismissed claims that the devices could be manipulated before election day.
She explained that BVAS is used solely for voter accreditation through facial and fingerprint verification and for uploading polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
According to her, all BVAS devices have been charged, configured and tested, while technical support personnel have been deployed to every registration area and local government to promptly address any technical issues during voting.
On security, Babalola said INEC had worked closely with security agencies to identify potential flashpoints across the state and had received assurances that adequate measures were in place to ensure peaceful elections.
She also reiterated the commission’s campaign against vote buying, urging voters not to exchange their votes for money.
“When you sell your vote, you sell your future,” she said, adding that INEC was collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to discourage electoral bribery.
Also speaking, the spokesperson of the Osun State Police Command, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said additional police personnel had been deployed from across the South-West to strengthen election security.
He disclosed that security agencies had identified and assessed flashpoints across the state and adjusted their operational plans following the Odo-Otin PVC theft.
Ojelabi also assured journalists, election observers and voters of adequate protection throughout the electoral process.
Traditional rulers equally appealed for peaceful conduct before, during and after the election.
The Akire of Ikire, Oba Azeez Olatunbosun Bamiji, urged politicians and their supporters to avoid violence, stressing that no political ambition was worth the loss of human life.
Responding to concerns over logistics, particularly disputes involving transport unions, Babalola said INEC had signed agreements with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Marine Workers Union, while the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) would inspect all vehicles designated for election duties before deployment.
Moderator of the town hall and Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade, described the Osun governorship election as an important test of Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections and urged citizens to reject vote buying, verify information before sharing it and contribute to peaceful polls.
