Election observer group, Yiaga Africa, has raised concerns over the late movement of sensitive electoral materials ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, warning that the development could disrupt logistics and create additional security risks.
The organisation also identified possible vote buying, violence, technological failures and the neutrality of security agencies as major issues that could affect the credibility of the election.
Speaking at Yiaga Africa’s pre-election briefing in Osogbo on Thursday, its Executive Director, Samson Itodo, said the late arrival of reprinted ballot papers and result sheets had disrupted the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) original logistics plan.
INEC was forced to reprint the materials following the late inclusion of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Francis Ajala, on the ballot.
The commission had said the revised materials would arrive in Osun on Thursday, August 13, for distribution to the 30 local government areas.
Itodo, however, warned that the compressed timeline could force election materials to be moved at night, increasing security risks in an already tense environment.
“If as of this morning the revised materials have not arrived, and INEC has issued a statement to the effect that it will come in later, it has disrupted the logistics arrangement,” he said.
He called for additional security measures to protect electoral materials and personnel and ensure that the materials reach local government areas and polling units on time.
Yiaga: Election Will Test INEC, Security Agencies
The Chairperson of Yiaga Africa’s Osun Election Observation Mission, Asmau Maikudi, said the election would serve as a major test of INEC’s operational preparedness, the professionalism of security agencies, the conduct of political parties and candidates, and the resilience of voters.
According to her, the election is the last major governorship poll before the 2027 general elections and provides an opportunity to assess the implementation of reforms introduced under the Electoral Act 2026.
These include the use of downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for accreditation and INEC’s regulations on electronic EC8A results and the validation of polling-unit results.
Maikudi, a former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, said while the commission had made significant progress with PVC distribution, recruitment and training of officials, mock accreditation, BVAS configuration and stakeholder engagement, its preparedness would ultimately be determined by voters’ experience at polling units.
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She urged INEC to remain vigilant and prepare for possible challenges involving logistics, technology and results management.
She also called on security agencies to remain neutral and professional throughout the election.
“Security agencies bear a heightened responsibility to demonstrate neutrality, professionalism, and restraint. They must secure the election without becoming participants in it.”
Yiaga Africa said INEC would deploy 4,427 BVAS devices across 3,763 polling units in the state’s 30 local government areas, while 2,339,233 registered voters are eligible to participate in the election.
BVAS Failures Raise Concerns
The observer group also expressed concern over problems recorded during INEC’s mock accreditation exercise.
Maikudi said some BVAS devices temporarily failed to recognise voters’ fingerprints, facial features and older PVC records.
She said INEC attributed some facial verification failures to an excessively high compatibility threshold affecting older voter data, particularly records that had not been revalidated.
According to her, unresolved technical problems could cause delays, disenfranchise eligible voters and trigger tension at polling units.
“If unresolved, these failures could disenfranchise eligible voters, generate tension at polling units and undermine confidence in the credibility and legitimacy of the election,” she said.
Yiaga Flags Vote Buying, Violence
Yiaga Africa also identified vote buying and violence as major threats to the integrity of the election.
The organisation said its observers had documented the distribution of money and gift items by political actors during the pre-election period.
While some of the activities were presented as social interventions or charitable assistance, Yiaga said their timing raised concerns about possible attempts to influence voters.
Maikudi urged political parties, candidates and their supporters to desist from vote buying and other practices capable of undermining ballot secrecy.
She also called for closer cooperation among security agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to identify, arrest and prosecute individuals involved in vote buying.
Yiaga to Independently Monitor Results
Yiaga Africa said it would deploy its Watching the Vote methodology to independently assess the conduct and outcome of the election.
The organisation will use its Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT), formerly known as Parallel Vote Tabulation, with 300 stationary observers deployed to a representative sample of polling units.
Another 32 mobile observers will cover all 30 local government areas.
The observers will monitor accreditation, voting and counting and transmit information for an independent assessment of the election.
Yiaga will also deploy its Election Result Analysis Dashboard 2.0 (ERAD 2.0) to monitor and independently audit polling-unit result sheets uploaded by INEC to its Election Results Viewing portal.
The organisation stressed that ERAD 2.0 would not collate results or declare a winner but would assess the availability, accessibility, timeliness and completeness of uploaded EC8A result sheets.
The Osun election is therefore expected to provide an important test of Nigeria’s electoral reforms, particularly the ability of technology, logistics and security arrangements to withstand the pressure of a closely contested election.
Rafiyat Sadiq is a political, justice, and human rights reporter with Pinnacle Daily, known for fearless reporting and impactful storytelling. At Pinnacle Daily, she brings clarity and depth to issues shaping governance, democracy, and the protection of citizens’ rights.