•As Imole Campaign Council Alleges Plan To Disenfranchise Voters
The Osun Conscious, a civil society group in the state, has alleged that the All Progressives Congress has plans to manipulate the August 15 governorship election in Osun State.
The group said a document titled, “Proposed Deployment For Police Officers To Critical Local Government For The Osun 2026 Gubernatorial Elections”, detailed the alleged plan to rig the poll.
Coordinator of the group, Ahmed Olajide, said the document outlines strategies to “win this election at all costs.”
According to The Osun Conscious, the document begins by stating that the 2026 election is “a major source of concern due to the overwhelming influence of the dominant political parties” and that it is “largely centred or drawn out between the APC and the ACCORD party, which is the incumbent in government house Osogbo.”
The paper then purportedly referenced voting patterns from the 2018 and 2022 elections, claiming the patterns have almost always remained the same, “albeit for about four Local Governments and some pockets of areas which can easily be leveraged upon for greater political advantage.”
The group said the document specifically names Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore and Iwo as “most crucial” because “they coincidentally have the highest voting bloc and need to be treated with great interest to avoid abysmal failure.”
It, however, states that the operation would cover 10 local government areas in total.
According to Olajide, the document allegedly proposes that “voting in critical areas of interest, where the ACCORD party holds sway, is stopped by 2:30pm in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.”
The group also alleged that the document stated that by 5pm, all local government collation centres in “at most 10 local government areas to be agreed upon by both INEC and the police” should be “fully cordoned and manned for specific enforcement.”
The group further alleged that the document proposes that “predetermined results should have been properly calculated and calibrated according to the voter registration in the specific local governments” and that “alternative collation centres would be required and determined to consolidate the already written results.” It also claims that “only approved Accord local government collation officers would be allowed into the offices.”
Other points attributed to the document by the group include the establishment of “a strict channel of communication that doesn’t exceed 2 men to guarantee secrecy,” and that “the men to be proposed for this operational conduct be strictly briefed by the commander of this operation on a one-on-one UNIT COMMANDER brief, approved by the IG and coordinated by the commander of the operation.”
The Osun Conscious said the paper proposes the deployment of 2,000 men across the 10 LGAs. In what it termed “Phase 1,” the men “will be distributed along the polling units to ensure compliance with the stopping of voting by 2:30pm in all polling units across them.”
In “Phase 2,” the document allegedly states that “the men having curtailed the voting process by 2:30pm, will then mobilise to the local government collation centres for cordoning and evacuation of election materials to a safe location and eventually to the state collation centre.”
The group also said the document claims “each collation centre will be covered with at least 3 mobile and counter terrorism units with at least three APC’s to be ready to curtail any dissident reaction to all plans and enforcement measures.”
The paper, according to The Osun Conscious, concludes by seeking “the support and approval of the IGP for operational effectiveness and implementation,” citing time constraints.
Meanwhile, the Imole Campaign Council, the group working for the re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke, has also alleged plot to disenfranchise voters.
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In a statement issued Monday and signed by its spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the Council said it received “credible intelligence of a plot by the APC to pressure INEC into abruptly ending voting by 12:00 noon in selected local government areas” considered political strongholds of Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Olajengbesi condemned the alleged scheme and called on Nigerians and pro-democracy stakeholders to take note of the risk it poses to the credibility of the election.
He said the alleged plot is the latest in a series of attempts by the APC to weaken Accord’s electoral prospects, following what he described as earlier failed efforts to remove Governor Adeleke and his party from the ballot through the courts, and subsequent allegations of arbitrary arrests and harassment of party members by police.
He added that the Council now had information suggesting a further attempt to use federal influence to pressure the electoral umpire.
The Council called on INEC to resist any political pressure and adhere strictly to its established voting procedures and timelines, insisting that no polling unit should be closed while eligible voters who arrived within the stipulated voting period are still waiting to cast their ballots.
It urged that the rules be applied uniformly across the state without favour or interference.
Describing the Osun election as a precursor to the 2027 general elections, the Council stressed that the poll must be free, fair, and transparent, warning that the credibility of the country’s electoral institutions is at stake.
The group called on civil society organisations, election observers, international bodies, and the media to remain vigilant against any attempt to manipulate the process.
Efforts to get the reaction of the All Progressives Congress proved abortive at the time of this report.
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