Yiaga Africa has expressed concerns over the conduct of the Osun governorship election, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission’s late inclusion of the SDP, while urging parties and candidates to reject vote-buying, inflammatory rhetoric and violence.
Osun is in the South-West region of Nigeria.
One of the civil society organisations (CSOs), acting as observers in the governorship election in Osun State, Yiaga Africa, has raised concerns over electoral preparedness, neutrality of security agencies and public confidence ahead of the election.
Yiaga Africa, while addressing journalists at a pre-election press conference held in Osogbo on Thursday, noted that the election would be a major test for the INEC, political parties, and security agencies, as well as the electorate.
The Chair, 2026 Osun Election Observation Mission, Asmau Maikudi, in her address noted that 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.
However, Yiaga Africa said technical challenges recorded during mock accreditation remain a concern, warning that some BVAS devices temporarily failed to recognise voters’ fingerprints, facial features and older PVC records.
On security, Maikudi 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.
The organisation also expressed concern over the late inclusion of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Francis Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Oladipo, following a Federal High Court judgment, insisting that the resulting reprinting of ballot papers and result sheets had compressed INEC’s deployment timetable.
Yiaga Africa noted that, through its Watching the Vote (WTV) initiative, 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, which could cause delays and disenfranchisement.
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.
According to Yiaga Africa, the ERAD 2.0 would be used 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.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Yiaga, Samson Itodo, expressed concerns about logistics. He notes that INEC should activate contingency logistics arrangements to prevent delays and ensure that all materials reach polling units before voting commences.
According to him, coupled with the insecurity and violence that have been recorded in the state, INEC should avoid election materials arriving in the state, especially when it’s dark.
