Yiaga Africa has raised concerns over rising inflammatory rhetoric, electoral violence, BVAS problems and last-minute changes to election materials ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
The civil society organisation said the issues could undermine public confidence and create avoidable tension at polling units if they are not properly addressed before election day.
Yiaga Africa expressed its concerns in a statement issued on Thursday, August 13, and signed by Asmau Maikudi, chair of its 2026 Osun election observation mission, and Samson Itodo, executive director of the organisation.
The group said it was “concerned by the escalation of incendiary rhetoric and hate speech attributed to political actors” as the election approaches.
Political tensions have increased in the state in recent days, with supporters of the Accord Party and the All Progressives Congress trading accusations and making statements that have raised concerns about possible violence.
Yiaga urged security and law enforcement authorities to act against electoral offences irrespective of the political standing of those involved.
“security and law enforcement agencies must investigate and prosecute electoral violence, threats, hate speech, and related offences without regard to political status, party affiliation, or influence”.
It added: “Selective enforcement will only reinforce perceptions of institutional bias and further erode confidence in election security,”
Yiaga said the August 15 election would be an important test of the preparedness of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the neutrality of security agencies.
The organisation highlighted INEC’s recent decision to add Social Democratic Party candidate Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, to the ballot following a Federal High Court judgment.
“INEC’s last-minute inclusion of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, followed a federal high court judgment directing the Commission to include SDP on the ballot.
“Compliance required the reprinting of ballot papers and result sheets, increasing the number of parties on the ballot to fifteen,” the statement reads.
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Yiaga said the revised election materials were expected to arrive in Osun on Thursday for distribution to the state’s 30 local government areas.
“The revised materials are expected to arrive in Osun on 13th August 2026 for onward distribution to the 30 LGAs. This has already disrupted INEC’s standard deployment schedule and compressed the time available for material sorting and distribution.”
The organisation also drew attention to problems recorded during INEC’s mock accreditation exercise involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
According to Yiaga, some BVAS devices temporarily failed to recognise voters’ fingerprints and facial features, while there were also difficulties involving older Permanent Voter Card records.
The group warned that unresolved technology problems could result in delays at polling units and potentially disenfranchise voters, while also creating tension during the exercise of accreditation.
Yiaga also noted that INEC had made downloadable electronic PVCs available to voters whose physical cards were reportedly carted away in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas.
However, it said limited access to digital services could prevent some affected voters from taking advantage of the alternative.
Yiaga further cited the attack on a PVC collection centre in Odo-Otin, violence reported in Osogbo and disputes involving motor parks as developments capable of disrupting the election.
Against this backdrop, the organisation said it would deploy 300 stationary observers and 32 mobile observers across Osun under its Watching the Vote initiative.
Yiaga called on INEC to address the outstanding BVAS issues, activate contingency arrangements for the late arrival of ballot materials and ensure that the management and collation of results are transparent and consistent with the Electoral Act 2026.
The organisation said the credibility of Saturday’s election would depend not only on the conduct of voters and political parties but also on the ability of electoral and security institutions to respond impartially to emerging challenges.