Sensitive election materials have arrived in Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) preparing to deploy ad hoc personnel from a pool of more than 30,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
INEC Chief Press Secretary, Adedayo Oketola, disclosed this on Monday, saying the commission had already received sensitive and non-sensitive materials in the state. He said the sensitive materials, including ballot papers and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, were being kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria for security reasons.
Oketola said the sensitive materials would be moved to local government offices on Friday, while non-sensitive materials would begin moving to Registration Area Centres from Thursday. He said the arrangement was designed to ensure that electoral officials, ad hoc staff, security personnel and materials were in place before voting begins at 8:30am.
INEC said 2,339,233 voters are registered in Osun State, although the commission could not provide the latest figure for those who collected their Permanent Voter Cards following an extension of the collection exercise.
Security agencies have deployed at least 25,310 personnel for the August 15 poll. The deployment includes 15,000 police officers, 10,210 personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and about 100 officers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The NSCDC said 10,000 additional personnel had been drawn from neighbouring state commands to reinforce security across Osun’s 30 local government areas. Specialised units, including intelligence, tactical, female, K9 and strike teams, have also been deployed. The corps warned political thugs and others planning to disrupt the election that they would face prosecution.
Meanwhile, armed military personnel have taken over security duties at the INEC headquarters in Osogbo. About three Armoured Personnel Carriers were also deployed to the area, according to a security source. Police and NSCDC personnel are expected to join the military deployment in the coming days.
The election will be contested by 14 political parties, with incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress and Najeem Salam of the African Democratic Congress among the prominent contenders.
INEC’s Osun Public Relations Officer, Musa Olurode, said the commission was ready for the election, noting that 12 of the 13 activities on its timetable had been completed. He said the distribution of sensitive materials to local governments would begin on Thursday.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council, however, urged political parties and candidates to reduce inflammatory rhetoric and allow the election to focus on policies and programmes. Its National Chairman, Yusuf Dantalle, also called on INEC and security agencies to remain impartial, protect voters and ensure a transparent process. He urged all parties to resolve grievances through lawful channels and warned against vote buying, violence and intimidation.
