The Independent National Electoral Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a free, fair and credible governorship election in Osun State on August 15, assuring stakeholders that the outcome will accurately reflect the choice of the electorate.
The assurance was given on Thursday by the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, during a multi-stakeholder roundtable on legal compliance and electoral integrity organised in Osogbo by the New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative.
Responding to concerns raised at the forum, Babalola said the commission would conduct the election in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, stressing that strict adherence to the law remains critical to safeguarding electoral credibility.
He said, “Electoral integrity is measured not only by the credibility, like I said, of election procedure, but also by the conduct of stakeholders before, during, and after the election. Compliance with the law remains the strongest statement against electoral discrepancy.
“We have had elections in Nigeria, where there was no election petition after the conduct of the election. So today, from INEC, I want to assure everyone here that we remain committed to conducting an election that is free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive.
“We will conduct an election that will reflect the will of the people of Osun, and INEC will continue to discharge its constitutional responsibility with professionalism, neutrality, and unwavering integrity,” Babalola said.
Earlier, the Executive Director of the New Generation Girls and Women Development Initiative and South-West Coordinator of the Youth Electoral Reform Project, Abimbola Aladejare-Salako, said the recent Ekiti State governorship election revealed shortcomings in the implementation of the 2026 Electoral Act.
According to her, the stakeholders’ meeting was convened to examine lessons from the Ekiti poll and develop strategies to strengthen transparency, credibility and inclusiveness ahead of the Osun governorship election.
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She further said, “Credible elections and active citizen participation remain the bedrock of every democratic society.
While the Ekiti election recorded notable improvements in several respects, it also highlighted operational, legal and administrative challenges that deserve careful reflection as Nigeria prepares for the Osun Off-cycle Governorship Election.
“One of the observations in the Ekiti election was that the key mandatory transmission of election results from the polling units was not carried out in most of the polling units.
This is against the electoral act, and that is why we are here today to have a discussion with key stakeholders to ensure that such do not happen in Osun State.
“The Osun election, therefore, presents an opportunity not only to implement the provisions of the Electoral Act faithfully but also to build on the successes recorded in Ekiti while addressing the gaps that became evident during its implementation.”
Aladejare-Salako added that although the Electoral Act provides alternative procedures where genuine communication failures occur, such provisions should not become standard practice.
She stated, “We must leave this roundtable with clear expectations and specific commitments from INEC and other election management institutions on issues that are fundamental to electoral integrity.”
A total of 14 political parties are expected to participate in the August 15 governorship election in Osun State.
Incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party is seeking a second term, while the All Progressives Congress has nominated former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Bola Oyebamiji, as its candidate.