Tension reportedly erupted at the polling unit of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, during Saturday’s Osun governorship election, after suspected agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly attempted to prevent INEC officials from counting ballots cast for the Accord Party.
The incident reportedly occurred at **Lado Hill Polling Unit in Boripe Local Government Area**, where proceedings allegedly took a dramatic turn during the counting of votes.
According to a report by *TheCable*, no agent of the Accord Party was present at the polling unit when the counting commenced.
A man wearing an APC identification tag allegedly confronted officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding that votes cast for Accord be cancelled.
The man was reportedly said to have told the electoral officials that the instruction had come **“from above.”**
The presiding officer initially resisted the demand, insisting on following the electoral procedure. However, according to the report, the situation allegedly changed after police officers and other security personnel moved away from the immediate scene.
In what could become one of the more controversial incidents from the election, the APC-tagged individual and another unidentified man were allegedly allowed to collect ink from the electoral officials and thumb-print ballots cast for Accord.
The action reportedly resulted in the ballots being treated as invalid, effectively removing the Accord votes from the final tally.
When the presiding officer eventually announced the result, **APC was credited with 242 votes**, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured five votes.
The Action Alliance (AA) recorded two votes, while the African Democratic Party (ADP) scored one.
The reported incident raises serious questions about the integrity of the voting and counting process, particularly the alleged interference with INEC officials and ballots after voting had ended.
The claim that the alleged demand to invalidate Accord votes came **“from above”** is likely to attract scrutiny, particularly if electoral authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
It also raises a fundamental question: **Who gave the alleged instruction, and why were electoral officials allegedly pressured to act on it?**
For an election that is expected to reflect the free choice of voters, any attempt by political actors to interfere with the counting or deliberately invalidate legitimate ballots would represent a serious threat to the credibility of the process.
Fourteen candidates contested the Osun governorship election, making the handling of every valid ballot particularly significant.
The allegations, however, remain claims and would require investigation and verification by INEC and relevant authorities before responsibility can be conclusively established.
