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Governor Ademola Adeleke has raised alarm over alleged attempts to intimidate voters and manipulate the ongoing Osun State governorship election, while expressing confidence that the process will remain peaceful.
Adeleke spoke after casting his vote at his polling unit in Ede, where he said voting had been smooth and expressed hope that the process would remain peaceful across the state.
However, the governor raised concerns over alleged attempts to disrupt the election and influence voters.
Adeleke accused a police officer of carrying out what he described as a “hatchet job” aimed at scaring voters away from polling units.
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He called on the Inspector-General of Police to redeploy the officer, saying the alleged conduct could undermine the credibility of the election.
The governor also alleged that fake ballot papers were in circulation and claimed that police personnel were harassing voters in Modakeke.
He urged electoral officials and security agencies to ensure that the collation and declaration of results followed due process from the polling unit through the ward and local government levels.
Despite the allegations, Adeleke expressed confidence in his chances of victory, saying, “God is on my side.”
Registered Voters
Meanwhile, more than 2.34 million registered voters are expected to turn out, with INEC and security agencies completing final logistics even as concerns mount over vote-buying and, more urgently, a rising toll of election-related violence.
Voter turnout and PVC collection
More than 2.34 million voters in Osun State have registered across 3,763 polling units in 30 local government areas to vote in the Osun State governorship election.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 1,234,769 of these voters are female (52.79 per cent), and 1,104,464 are male (47.21 per cent), an increase on the 1,954,800 voters registered for the 2023 general election.
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Of the total registered voters, about 1.91 million (81.50 per cent) have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs). The remaining 18.50 per cent, roughly 427,000 people, have not, and are unlikely to be able to vote unless they collect them before polls open.
Joseph Opatoki, head of the Department of Election and Party Monitoring in Osun State, voting is taking place across the 30 LGAs and one area office in Modakeke, Ife East LGA, at 3,763 polling units, each reporting to one of 332 registration areas. INEC has also provided magnifying glasses, Braille ballot guides, and priority access for persons with disabilities, the elderly, and nursing mothers.
INEC draws ad-hoc staff from a pool of more than 30,000 National Youth Service Corps members and deploy 5,130 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.
A total of 143 accredited observer groups, 134 local and 9 international, are registered to monitor the election. Sensitive materials, including ballot papers and BVAS units, were confirmed to have arrived in Osogbo earlier this week and were being moved to local government areas and registration area centres in the final 48 hours before polling, alongside ad-hoc staff and security personnel. Polling is scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m.
Security Deployment
More than 25,310 security personnel had been deployed across the state, comprising roughly 15,000 police officers, 10,210 NSCDC personnel, and about 100 EFCC officers.
The police contingent included specialised units: the K9 unit, the Police Mobile Force, medical personnel, helicopters and drones, under the command of 30 Commissioners of Police.
Inspector-General Olatunji Disu also deployed Deputy Inspector-General Ishyaku Mohammed to coordinate the police component of security operations under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), working alongside Assistant Inspectors-General and Commissioners of Police across the state’s three senatorial districts.
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Similarly, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) announced the deployment of over 10,210 personnel across the state to support a peaceful and violence-free election.
