The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has moved into the final stage of preparations for Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, with sensitive materials already secured in the state and more than 25,000 security personnel lined up to protect voters, officials, and electoral assets across the 30 local government areas.
The commission also plans to draw its ad hoc workforce from a pool of more than 30,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Osun, although it has yet to disclose the exact number that will serve during the August 15 poll.
INEC’s Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, disclosed the arrangements on Monday while providing an update on the commission’s readiness for the election.
Oketola said 2,339,233 people were registered as voters in Osun, but noted that he did not have the latest figure for Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) collected after the commission extended the collection exercise.
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He said the sensitive election materials had already arrived in Osun and were being kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for security reasons. He declined to disclose when they were delivered. He explained that revealing the movement of ballot papers and other critical materials could expose them to attack.
Oketola said, “Right now, sensitive materials are already in Osun. Nobody will tell you when materials arrived Osun. What is most important is that they have arrived.”
The commission plans to begin moving non-sensitive materials to local government areas and Registration Area Centres from Thursday. Sensitive materials, including ballot papers and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, are expected to move from the CBN to local government offices on Friday before being taken to RACs.
According to Oketola, ad hoc personnel and security operatives will also move to the RACs ahead of election day, alongside vehicles and other logistical equipment required for deployment.
The arrangements are intended to ensure that polling units are ready before voting begins at 8.30am on Saturday.
INEC’s Osun Public Relations Officer, Musa Olurode, said the commission had completed 12 of the 13 activities on its election timetable, leaving only election day.
The security architecture for the poll is equally extensive. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is deploying 15,000 personnel, while the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) is providing 10,210 officers and personnel. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also expected to deploy about 100 officers to tackle vote-buying and other forms of electoral inducement.
The NSCDC deployment includes 10,000 personnel drawn from 10 neighbouring commands, with about 1,000 personnel each coming from Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun, Lagos, Kwara, Edo, Kogi, Delta, and the Federal Capital Territory.
The corps said the personnel would reinforce existing officers in Osun and cover polling units, electoral officials, observers, journalists, and residents.
NSCDC Commandant-General, Abubakar Audi, also ordered the deployment of specialised units, including intelligence, tactical, female, K9 and strike teams. He directed the personnel to maintain neutrality and professionalism throughout the exercise.
Audi said, “The safety and security of election materials and electoral officials are very critical alongside the electorates.”
He warned political thugs and others planning to disrupt the election that security agencies would act within the law against attempts to compromise the process.
The heightened security presence was already visible on Monday, when armed military personnel assumed security duties at the Osun INEC headquarters in Osogbo. Three Armoured Personnel Carriers were also reported to have been deployed around the facility.
A security source told journalists that the soldiers arrived on Sunday and increased their presence on Monday, while police and NSCDC personnel were expected to reinforce the deployment.
The election is being contested by 14 political parties, with incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, and ADC candidate Najeem Salam among the most prominent contenders.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council, meanwhile, appealed to political parties and security agencies to reduce tension ahead of the poll.
IPAC National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, urged political actors to avoid inflammatory statements and allow voters to judge candidates on their policies and programmes.
He also called on INEC to ensure equal treatment of candidates, transparent accreditation and voting, timely distribution of materials, and accurate collation of results.
Dantalle warned security agencies against intimidation and urged them to protect voters, candidates, party agents, journalists, and electoral officials without discrimination.
He also criticised the EFCC’s freezing of Osun State Government accounts. He said the action was politically motivated and warned that such a measure could affect access to funds needed for salaries and essential public services.
With sensitive materials secured, logistics preparations advancing, and thousands of security personnel being deployed, attention has now shifted to the final movement of personnel and materials before polling begins across Osun on Saturday.
