Osun Election: APC, Accord Members Commend Exercise, Ask INEC to Improve BVAS Machines
By Olusegun HOSEA, Osun State
15th August, 2026
Hon. Kunle Adegoke, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) contesting for the Senate seat of Osun Central Senatorial District in the forthcoming 2027 election, has described the ongoing gubernatorial election in the state as peaceful and orderly, saying there was no form of disruption whatsoever. Adegoke, who spoke with the press, commended INEC and other security agencies for doing their jobs thoroughly without any form of attack or intimidation.
Speaking, Hon. Adegoke expressed confidence in the victory of his party at the end of the election. According to him, their party was the most popular among the political parties in the state and had done the necessary things that would give them victory at the end. He advised the people to cast their votes, remain orderly and peaceful, as well as monitor their votes to the end. He said only a peaceful conduct of election could guarantee progressive and democratic governance in the country. He believed there was no other way they could do it except through peaceful and orderly conduct. Hon. Adegoke, who was confident of victory, said he believed their victory could not be otherwise because they had covered all the loopholes and areas they needed to cover, campaigned effectively, and that all the people of Osun were with them and therefore, they could not expect a contrary outcome.
Also, Hon. Bolanle Jimoh, Osogbo South LCDA Local Government Chairman representing APC, assessed the election as peaceful and orderly. She explained that everything was going on smoothly in Osogbo and expressed confidence that she was winning the election for her party. Hon. Bolanle debunked the allegations of vote buying and also commended Governor Ademola Adeleke for trying his best, but said his best was not good enough, which was why the people had concluded on voting him out of office.
Also speaking was Hon. Dr. Samuel Oluwasesan Sannusi, a member and candidate of the APC for Olorunda Federal Constituency, who also commended the smooth and peaceful conduct of the election. Sannusi said that everybody was very cooperative and that things were going very well in most of the polling units he visited. He commended the INEC staff and security personnel for acting professionally. He admonished the people to vote and return to their homes without being violent, saying that at the end, he was confident that victory would come. He appreciated the good conduct of the people of Olorunda in Osun State for trooping out to vote for their preferred candidate. He said they were not fighting each other as they stood in unity. He said there was a need for improvement in the area of logistics by INEC in some parts of the state.
In Ede, Hon. Babajide Kofoworola, the Majority Leader of the Osun State House of Assembly, also spoke on the peaceful conduct of the election and said the only challenge was the slowness of the exercise due to the large crowd and network challenges. According to him, the only one BVAS was not enough to cater for the one thousand voters registered in the polling unit, which was Ward 1, Unit 2, Olobatapara, in Ede North. He said he was expecting two BVAS machines from INEC in the area. He commended the security agencies for the job well done in the area but, however, informed the public that the information reaching him about the security situation in Ife, Modakeke and Ikire was that the situation was worse, especially in Ikire, as other opposition political parties were alleged to have denied members of their party from casting their votes. He also mentioned Borioe as experiencing security challenges, as he watched it on social media. He advised the people to remain calm while the voting was ongoing and that they should follow the votes to the collation centre after the whole exercise.
Similarly, in Ede, Engr. Akintunde Bello Sheriff spoke on the peaceful conduct of the election at Oloba Tapara Ward One. He said he was the Accord Party leader in the ward and that the election was largely peaceful as people came out from their comfort zones in droves to exercise their franchise. He commended the security personnel and INEC staff for carrying out their duties responsibly. He also pointed out the challenge facing the unit with the BVAS machine, which he said was very slow, probably due to the network. Engr. Akintunde said that, due to this reason, the process had been delayed and was taking too much time to cater for the large number of registered voters. He explained that, due to the law of the election, which gives room for the last person to be attended to irrespective of the time, as long as they were still on the queue, the process would be followed. He said their expectation was that INEC would announce the outcome of what the people had put into the ballot box at the collation centre. He concluded that at Olobatapara, they did not have any issues of sabotage except the issue of the BVAS, which slowed the process, and said they believed that in future, INEC would improve on the technical performance of its machines so that the people could vote seamlessly and also have time to focus their attention on doing other businesses. He also commended the officers and men of the security agencies who were on ground for doing wonderfully well as of the time of speaking with the press.
In another development, a member of the Accord Party in Osun State, Hon. Abdumaruf Adewale Adebayo, has raised the alarm over alleged brutality and intimidation of voters in Obale and Obaoke communities during the ongoing Osun State governorship election.
Adebayo, who represents the Irepodun/Olorunda/Osogbo Federal Constituency, alleged that some security operatives working in collaboration with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) intimidated and attacked residents in the two communities.
Speaking with journalists during the election, he alleged that some people were macheted and forced out of Obale and Obaoke during an operation that reportedly began around 1:00 a.m.
He described the alleged incident as disturbing and called on security agencies to take immediate steps to restore calm and protect voters in the affected communities.
The Accord lawmaker said, “Why should a security operative be working with APC, intimidating people? They macheted our people to the extent that you cannot just say you see it in life.”
He urged security operatives to rise to the challenge and ensure that voters are allowed to exercise their franchise without intimidation, harassment or violence.
Adebayo, however, said the situation in other parts of his constituency was relatively peaceful, noting that voters had turned out in large numbers to participate in the election.
“So far, so good, the INEC officers and all political parties complied to some reasonable extent. That is why you can see the electorate trooping out in their numbers to exercise their franchise rights,” he said.
He added that there had been no significant intimidation, frustration or harassment of voters in those areas, saying the electoral process was progressing smoothly.
On whether the alleged incidents in Obale and Obaoke could affect the outcome of the election, Adebayo said the situation would not have a significant impact if security agencies quickly intervened.
“But if the situation continues, I don’t think we are going to have a very good and reasonable outcome in that area,” he warned.
The Accord chieftain expressed optimism that the will of the people would ultimately prevail, saying he expected the outcome to favour his party’s governorship candidate.
He also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials for what he described as a fair approach to the exercise.
According to him, INEC officials were educating voters on how to thumbprint their ballot papers and where to deposit them after voting.
Adebayo urged the electoral body to maintain the same level of neutrality and professionalism until the conclusion of the election.
