The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has commenced activities for the 2026 governorship election with the posting of the official Notice of Election in all 30 local government offices and the Area Office in Modakeke.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mutiu Agboke, disclosed this on Wednesday during an expanded stakeholders’ meeting at the commission’s headquarters in Osogbo.
He assured the electorate of transparency, fairness, and professionalism, stressing that INEC alone cannot deliver a credible poll without stakeholders’ support.
Agboke said the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will commence nationwide on August 18, 2025, with online registration at www.cvr.inecnigeria.org.
Registrants will generate a slip online and complete biometrics at their local government offices from August 25. The INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) will be deployed for CVR, while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be used for the election.
According to him, the current Electoral Act 2022 remains in force unless amended by the National Assembly.
He warned political parties, the media, and civil society against vote-buying and violence, describing them as cankerworms undermining credible elections.
The electorate should be educated to reject vote trading. Both violence and vote-buying are punishable under the Electoral Act,” he said, urging youths to shun being used as agents of destruction.
Agboke recalled that INEC headquarters released the timetable for the 2026 governorship election on May 27, 2025. Party primaries and dispute resolution will hold from November 24 to December 15, 2025. Submission of candidates’ particulars (EC9) and list of nominated candidates (EC9B) at the nomination portal will run from January 15 to February 9, 2026, with access codes available from December 15, 2025.
The governorship election is scheduled for August 8, 2026.
Providing electoral statistics as of July 31, 2025, Agboke said Osun has 1,954,800 registered voters, with 1,594,006 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected and 360,794 uncollected. The state has 332 registration areas/wards and 3,763 polling units.
Stakeholders at the meeting included political parties, security agencies, media, civil society groups, religious organisations, and people with disabilities. Agboke promised regular updates on developments ahead of the poll.
“We must start conversations on ending vote-buying and violence at campaign grounds and in our meetings,” he said. “We must speak against them because they are not healthy for our democracy.”
The Guardian
