RismadarVoice Reporters, July 29, 2026
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared its readiness to conduct a free, fair and credible governorship election in Osun State on August 15, announcing an extension of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection exercise to boost voter participation.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), announced the Osun State Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Forum in Osogbo, where he assured political parties, security agencies and other stakeholders that all logistical, technological and operational preparations for the election had been concluded.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the PVC collection exercise would now end on Friday, July 31, revealing that 322,822 newly registered voters, representing 62 per cent, had already collected their cards.
He also announced that the Commission would conduct a mock accreditation exercise on Saturday, August 1, in 12 selected local government areas to test the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the election.
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, said voter registration in the state had increased from 1,954,800 to 2,339,233, while all 3,763 BVAS devices required for the election had been configured and fully charged, with 1,328 backup machines set aside for contingencies.
She added that non-sensitive election materials had already been distributed to the 30 local government areas, while sensitive materials remained secured at the Central Bank of Nigeria in Osogbo. She further disclosed that the training of ad hoc personnel would run from July 31 to August 9.
Also speaking, the Supervising National Commissioner for Osun State, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, described the governorship poll as a critical test of Nigeria’s democratic process and warned political parties against vote buying, voter intimidation and inflammatory rhetoric.
He stressed that anyone found violating the Electoral Act would face appropriate sanctions and urged security agencies, the media and civil society organisations to remain professional and impartial throughout the electoral process.
The stakeholders’ forum ended with an interactive session during which participants sought clarification on election logistics, security, PVC collection and BVAS deployment. INEC officials assured stakeholders that adequate measures had been put in place to guarantee a peaceful, transparent and credible election.
Following the meeting, Prof. Amupitan led National Commissioners and members of the Commission’s management team into a strategic session with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to fine-tune security arrangements ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
