An All Progressives Congress (APC) member on Saturday challenged an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the closure of voting at Polling Unit 003, Alagba, in Osogbo, Osun State.
The disagreement occurred at about 2:34 p.m. as voting was winding down during the ongoing Osun State governorship election.
The APC member questioned why the polling unit was being closed before the full six-hour period had elapsed, arguing that accreditation and voting commenced at 8:37 a.m.
According to him, voting should therefore have continued until 2:37 p.m., in line with the time the exercise began.
“You started at 8:37 a.m., you should stop voting at 2:37 p.m. I will never agree with you. You even said you will stop at 2:37 p.m. Why are you closing at 2:34 p.m.?” the APC member told the INEC official.
The APC member insisted that the full period allocated for voting should be observed, apparently to ensure that eligible voters who were still waiting at the polling unit were given the opportunity to cast their ballots.
The incident occurred as voting was drawing to a close across several polling units in the state, with attention focused on the conduct of the election and compliance with electoral guidelines.
The disagreement briefly drew attention at the polling unit as the APC member pressed the INEC official to allow voting to continue until the stated closing time.
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny of the conduct of the Osun governorship election, with political parties and observers monitoring the voting process across the state.
The election is being conducted across the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State, with voters casting ballots to elect the next governor of the state.
As voting concludes, attention is expected to shift to the counting, collation and announcement of results by INEC.