Fresh concerns have emerged over the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) preparedness for the August 15, 2026 Osun governorship election after technical glitches disrupted the mock accreditation exercise in parts of the state.
The pre-election simulation, conducted across 12 local government areas in Osun’s three senatorial districts on Saturday, August 1, 2026, was designed to test the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and election-day accreditation procedures.
The exercise, however, suffered a setback when some BVAS devices reportedly failed to verify voters’ fingerprints, facial biometrics and Permanent Voter Card (PVC) details, forcing a temporary halt to accreditation at affected polling units.
INEC technical teams were deployed to restore the malfunctioning devices.
Confirming the development, the commission’s Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Dayo Olurode, said engineers were working to resolve the technical issues but did not disclose the cause of the malfunction.
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The incident sparked concerns among election observers and civil society groups, who warned that similar failures during the governorship poll could delay accreditation, disenfranchise voters and weaken public confidence in the electoral process.
The Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Citizens (CCNC) urged INEC to identify the source of the fault, strengthen its contingency plans and replace any defective devices before election day.
The development also echoes challenges recorded during the 2023 general election, when BVAS authentication issues caused delays at some polling units in Kaduna and other parts of the country, reinforcing calls for stronger technical support and reliable backup systems.
Despite the setback, INEC said preparations for the election remain on track. The commission recently announced that Osun’s voter register increased from 1,954,800 to 2,339,233, while 322,822 newly registered voters have collected their PVCs.
It also said 3,763 BVAS devices have been configured for the election, with 1,328 backup machines set aside for contingencies. Sensitive materials have been secured at the Central Bank of Nigeria in Osogbo, while training for ad hoc personnel began on July 31.
With less than two weeks to the election, Saturday’s technical hitch has intensified scrutiny of INEC’s operational readiness as political parties, observers and voters look to the commission to deliver a smooth and credible poll.