By Julius Peter
The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) has raised concerns over vote buying, political violence, security threats, disinformation and unresolved operational issues ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
The Hub, in its pre-election statement issued on Friday, August 14, 2026, said it had deployed 843 accredited election observers across the state to monitor the poll scheduled for Saturday, August 15.
The EU-SDGN EOH comprises the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), International Press Centre (IPC), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), TAF Africa, The Kukah Centre (TKC) and Yiaga Africa.
In a Press briefing, which followed an earlier pre-election assessment released on July 12, said the observation mission would operate in accordance with the principles of independence, impartiality and non-partisanship.
According to the Hub, the Osun election has considerable national significance as it comes exactly five months before the 2027 general election and two months after the Ekiti State governorship election.
It said the poll would provide another opportunity to assess the implementation of provisions contained in the new electoral legal framework, while also offering valuable lessons to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties and other stakeholders ahead of the 2027 elections.
The EU-SDGN EOH said 15 candidates would contest the election across 3,763 polling units, 332 Registration Areas and 30 Local Government Areas of the state.
The development followed the inclusion of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, on INEC’s list of candidates.
The Hub said Osun now has 2,339,233 registered voters, representing an increase of 384,433, or 19.67 per cent, over the 1,954,800 registered voters recorded during the 2023 general election.
The figure is also 386,846, or 19.81 per cent, higher than the 1,952,387 registered voters recorded for the 2022 governorship election.
Of the total registered voters, 1,906,390, representing 81.50 per cent, have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), including 6,101 printed downloadable PVCs.
The Hub observed that the political landscape in Osun had undergone considerable realignment since the 2023 general election, with Governor Ademola Adeleke seeking another term on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while the All Progressives Congress (APC) is fielding former state Commissioner for Finance and former Director-General of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is fielding Najeem Salaam, who served as Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly from 2011 to 2019.
The observation group said INEC had declared itself operationally, technologically and logistically ready for the election.
It said the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, had confirmed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices had been configured and fully charged.
According to the Hub, non-sensitive election materials had been batched and distributed, while reprinted ballot papers reflecting the addition of the SDP candidate had arrived at the 30 Local Government Area offices.
It added that about 17,500 ad-hoc personnel had been recruited, trained and deployed, while 97 Super Registration Area Centres (Super-RACs) and 105 RACs had been activated to facilitate the timely deployment of personnel and materials.
The arrangements, it said, were designed to support the opening of the 3,763 polling units by 8:30 a.m.
However, the Hub recalled that INEC’s August 1 mock accreditation exercise conducted across 12 LGAs exposed some technical challenges with BVAS, including the inability of some devices to recognise the biometrics of certain voters.
The Commission subsequently reported that the identified problems had been resolved and increased the number of BVAS devices from 4,427 to 5,130, including 1,367 backup devices.
The Hub urged INEC to maintain vigilance and neutrality throughout the election, particularly in the deployment of personnel and materials and in the collation, transmission and announcement of results.
One of the major concerns raised by the EU-SDGN EOH relates to the electronic transmission and collation of election results.
The Hub said Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires Presiding Officers to electronically transmit polling unit results, known as Form EC8A, to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
It noted, however, that where electronic transmission fails because of communication challenges, the signed physical EC8A remains the primary legal source for collation and declaration.
The observation group expressed concern over INEC’s introduction of an electronic EC8A on BVAS as part of a validation process without sufficient public explanation of where the results are transmitted or precisely what role the electronic version plays.
It also questioned the backend validation process through which transmitted polling unit results pass before appearing on the IReV portal.
The Hub said there was inadequate public information about what was being verified during the process, who conducts the verification and how long the process should take.
It warned that this could create uncertainty because several versions of a result could exist, including the physical EC8A, the scanned copy published on IReV, the copy retained on BVAS and the electronically transmitted e-EC8A.
The group said there was no clearly stated rule explaining which version would prevail if discrepancies occurred.
It also expressed concern that IReV currently publishes polling-unit results but does not publish ward-level EC8B or Local Government-level EC8C collation results.
According to the Hub, the absence of the higher-level result sheets could make it difficult for citizens, political parties and observers to independently verify whether the final totals announced correspond with the individual polling-unit results.
The organisation therefore urged INEC to publish a comprehensive results-transmission protocol and ensure that the entire result chain, from polling units to final declaration, is transparent and independently verifiable.
The EU-SDGN EOH also classified Osun as a high-risk electoral environment, citing political violence, disputes over Local Government administration, criminal activities and the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
Other LGAs classified as high-risk include Boripe, Obokun, Ilesa West, Ife Central, Ife North, Iwo, Ede North, Ifedayo, Ilesa East, Isokan and Irepodun.
The Hub said the security threats were driven by organised political violence allegedly involving party-aligned thugs and youth groups, unresolved disputes over control of Local Government secretariats, criminal elements exploiting the political environment and an active ecosystem of fake news and inflammatory communication.
It said the threats included attacks on political leaders and party offices, shootings in multiple locations, political abductions and violence during political campaigns and rallies.
The Nigeria Police Force, according to the Hub, has developed an operational framework for the election with a proposal to deploy up to 30,000 security and law-enforcement personnel.
The personnel are expected to include specialised, tactical and canine units drawn from police formations across the country.
They will be supported by the Nigerian Army, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Correctional Service, Federal Road Safety Corps and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security.
Despite the security preparations, the Hub expressed concern over allegations of police brutality, misuse of force, illegal arrests and extra-judicial killings.
It warned that such allegations could undermine public confidence in the neutrality and professionalism of security agencies, particularly when the same institutions are expected to protect voters and safeguard the integrity of the election.
The EU-SDGN EOH called on security agencies to strictly comply with their codes of conduct and rules of engagement.
It urged them to remain professional, impartial and diligent while protecting voters, electoral officials, journalists, observers and other stakeholders.
The observation mission also raised concerns about the under-representation and potential exclusion of women, young people and persons with disabilities (PwDs).
It said women account for 52.79 per cent of registered voters in Osun, while youths aged 18 to 34 constitute approximately 36.6 per cent of registered voters and represent the largest voting bloc in the state.
The Hub said persons with disabilities had shown encouraging levels of awareness, PVC collection and confidence in INEC’s preparations.
It therefore called on INEC, political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to guarantee the safe and unhindered participation of women, youths and persons with disabilities.
It recommended adequate transportation arrangements, assistive voting devices, gender-sensitive security planning and priority voting for vulnerable persons.
Perhaps the strongest warning in the statement centred on vote buying and voter inducement.
The EU-SDGN EOH described vote buying as the highest threat to the credibility of Saturday’s election, saying reports of financial and material inducements had continued to circulate ahead of the poll.
The Hub noted that INEC had indicated plans to deploy plain-clothes financial intelligence officers, working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), around polling units to deter and prosecute vote trading.
It called for decisive, evidence-based action against individuals involved in vote buying.
The organisation said persons found engaging in the practice should be arrested, investigated and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Hub also warned about the growing influence of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, particularly across Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and X.
It urged the media, civil society organisations and regulatory bodies to intensify fact-checking and conflict-sensitive reporting in order to prevent false information from triggering violence or escalating political tensions.
The EU-SDGN EOH urged INEC to ensure the timely distribution of sensitive materials and guarantee that accreditation and voting begin at 8:30 a.m.
It also called for seamless electronic transmission of validated polling-unit results to IReV, adequate BVAS backup capacity and publication of a clear explanation of the entire results-transmission process.
The Hub further urged INEC to publish EC8B and EC8C results on IReV alongside polling-unit results and ensure transparent announcement of results at every stage of collation.
Political parties and candidates were urged to respect the July 30, 2026 Peace Accord, accept the outcome as declared by INEC and pursue grievances through lawful and judicial channels.
They were also advised to reject vote buying, voter intimidation and the deployment of political thugs.
Security agencies were urged to maintain neutrality, deploy adequate personnel to critical and high-risk areas, protect transport routes and polling and collation centres, and respond promptly and proportionately to electoral violence.
The Hub further called for public disclosure of progress on investigations into electoral violence, including arrests, charges and court dates.
The EU-SDGN EOH urged journalists and media organisations to verify information before publication, particularly information circulating on social media platforms.
It warned media organisations against publishing unofficial election results before INEC formally declares results at the appropriate collation level.
The media, it said, should adopt conflict-sensitive reporting capable of providing accurate information while helping to reduce tension.
Voters were urged to turn out early, vote according to their conscience and reject intimidation, coercion and inducements.
The Hub also called on voters to report incidents of vote buying and other electoral malpractice to INEC officials, security agencies or accredited observers.
The EU-SDGN EOH described Saturday’s election as a critical milestone and the second major poll under Nigeria’s new electoral legal framework.
It said the outcome would provide important lessons ahead of the 2027 general election.
The organisation observed that the pre-election environment remained highly competitive and tense, influenced by political rivalry, unresolved disputes over Local Government administration, security concerns and operational and logistical challenges.
It stressed that the credibility of the election would ultimately depend on whether voting, collation and declaration were conducted freely, fairly, peacefully and transparently.
“The people of Osun State deserve a free, fair, credible, and inclusive election that transparently and accurately reflects their sovereign will,” the Hub said.
The EU-SDGN EOH said it would continue monitoring developments and issue a preliminary Election Day statement on Saturday, followed by a comprehensive post-election report after the declaration of results.
