INEC Deploys Sensitive Materials Across Osun
The Independent National Electoral Commission commenced the distribution of sensitive election materials to all 30 local government areas of Osun State on Thursday night, just hours after resolving a logistical crisis triggered by a Federal High Court order that forced the commission to reprint ballot papers barely two days before the governorship election.
The materials left the Central Bank of Nigeria premises in Osogbo under the supervision of the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, with buses heading to assigned local government areas as of 11:30 p.m. The distribution had been delayed after the Federal High Court in Abuja, in a judgment delivered on July 22, 2026, directed INEC to include the Social Democratic Party and its candidate, Dr Francis Olugbenga Ajala, on the ballot for the election scheduled for Saturday, August 15.
INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Kudu Haruna confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that the commission had reproduced ballot papers and result sheets to accommodate the SDP candidate and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo. The development brought the total number of political parties contesting the election to 15, up from the 14 originally cleared.
The court case, filed as Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, had ordered INEC to “forthwith recognise, accept, upload, process and publish the name and particulars of Dr Francis Olugbenga Ajala as the candidate of the Social Democratic Party.” The commission said the reproduced ballot papers arrived in Osun on Thursday and were moved to local government area offices the same day.
The late inclusion of the SDP has added a layer of complexity to an election already marked by concerns over voter turnout, security and electoral integrity. INEC has registered 2.3 million voters for the poll, the largest electorate in the state’s history, spread across 3,763 polling units. Yet historical data suggest that registration figures may matter less than the number of voters who actually turn up on election day.
In the 2022 governorship election, nearly two million people registered to vote, but only 42.09 per cent cast their ballots, the lowest turnout ever recorded in an Osun governorship poll. That meant fewer than half of registered voters determined the outcome of an election affecting a population of more than five million people. Turnout has exceeded 50 per cent only twice since the state’s creation in 1991, in 2003 and 2014, before declining steadily to 45.74 per cent in 2018 and 42.09 per cent in 2022.
The 2022 election, which saw Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party defeat incumbent Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress by 28,344 votes, was also marred by widespread reports of vote-buying. Yiaga Africa, which monitored the poll, reported that cash and other inducements were openly exchanged at polling units across the state. The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria has since identified political competition, governance tensions and declining public trust as risks ahead of the 2026 poll.
Saturday’s election will determine whether Adeleke secures a second term or whether the APC, now fielding Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, managing director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, can reclaim the governorship. The PDP is not fielding a candidate in this election, according to INEC’s final list released in March 2026. Other contenders include Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress and Adegabo Opawoye Yemisi of the Action Democratic Party, the only female governorship candidate on the ballot at 84 years old.
Civil society organisations have raised security concerns ahead of the poll. The Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa noted in a pre-election analysis that 13 local government areas have been flagged as high-risk due to past electoral violence, political competition and escalating tensions. The Kukah Centre’s Political, Social and Security Context Analysis has similarly highlighted electoral violence, local government disputes and disinformation as factors that could discourage voters.
Mr Umar Mohammed, senior programme manager at the non-governmental organisation Kimpat Development Initiative, described the arrival of materials as encouraging but expressed concern that rainfall could disrupt their distribution. “We were worried after the court pronouncement, which led to the addition of SDP to the ballot. This created a logistical challenge for INEC. We felt it could affect the election and probably lead to a call for postponement, but it is good that the materials have arrived,” he said.
INEC has intensified voter education through daily radio jingles and partnerships with civil society organisations, traditional rulers and transport unions to encourage greater participation. The commission has also warned that vote-buying remains a criminal offence punishable under the Electoral Act by a fine of at least N5 million or imprisonment for up to two years.
With the ballot papers now in circulation and election day less than 48 hours away, the success of the poll will depend not only on INEC’s ability to manage the last-minute logistical adjustments, but on whether the commission’s efforts to reverse the state’s long decline in voter turnout can persuade more Osun residents to exercise their franchise.