By Our Correspondent
The countdown to the August 15 governorship election in Osun State has taken a tense turn, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, warning political actors against actions capable of plunging the state into violence.
The warning came on Tuesday as INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, SAN, began a five-day readiness assessment of the poll with a visit to the Ooni’s palace in Ile-Ife.
The election, which will be conducted across 30 local government areas, 332 registration areas and 3,763 polling units, has 2,339,233 registered voters.
The Ooni told the INEC chairman that the political atmosphere in the state had become a source of serious concern, disclosing that traditional rulers had held extensive consultations on the situation before Amupitan’s arrival.
Describing the development as worrisome and unbearable, the monarch urged INEC to deploy its authority to guarantee a peaceful, free, fair and credible election.
Amupitan, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner and other senior officials, also appealed to traditional rulers to deploy their influence in restraining politicians and their supporters from acts that could trigger violence.
He warned that the pursuit of political power must not come at the cost of human lives.
«“The blood of one innocent person is not worth a governorship election. Nobody should be killed or should be threatened or should be embarrassed just because of election,” Amupitan said.»
The INEC chairman described the August 15 election as a critical test of the commission’s preparedness for the 2027 general elections, saying lessons from the exercise would shape preparations for the nationwide polls.
Amupitan formally informed the Ooni that the Osun governorship election would hold on August 15, 2026, while the next general election is scheduled for January 16, 2027.
He added that governorship and state House of Assembly elections in other states would follow on February 6, 2027.
According to him, the scale of the Osun election — with more than 2.3 million registered voters and thousands of polling units — places significant logistical and operational demands on the commission.
He said his decision to commence the readiness tour at the Ooni’s palace was deliberate, given the traditional institution’s role in maintaining peace and stability.
Amupitan described Ile-Ife as the ancestral cradle of the Yoruba people and a historic symbol of peace and cultural unity.
The INEC chairman also identified misinformation and disinformation as major threats to the credibility of the election, warning that artificial intelligence could be exploited to create fake election results and circulate them online.
He urged political parties, candidates and supporters to reject unverified information and rely on official communication from INEC.
Amupitan also cautioned against vote-buying and other electoral malpractices, warning that such practices could undermine the integrity of the poll and weaken confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
On voter accreditation, he assured the electorate that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System would be deployed, stressing that no vote would be counted without proper accreditation.
Responding, the Ooni commended Amupitan’s leadership but reiterated the traditional institution’s concern over the growing political tension.
The monarch said the situation had become so serious that traditional rulers were compelled to deliberate extensively on the matter before the INEC chairman’s visit.
He urged the electoral commission to remain impartial and ensure a level playing field for all candidates.
The Ooni said INEC bore a critical responsibility for delivering a credible election, particularly as government had provided the necessary support for the commission to operate independently.
He appealed to INEC to take urgent steps to de-escalate the tension and persuade politicians and their supporters to embrace peace.
Amupitan said his administration had, since assuming office, overseen elections in Anambra, the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils and Ekiti State, alongside by-elections in about 11 states.
He said the experiences gathered from those exercises would be valuable in fine-tuning the commission’s preparations for Osun and the 2027 general elections.
At the end of the visit, the Ooni presented Amupitan with an acrylic artwork made of bronze, which he said had been preserved in the palace for more than 10,000 years, as a symbol of goodwill and friendship.
The visit marked the opening of Amupitan’s five-day readiness tour, during which he is expected to meet political parties, traditional rulers, security agencies and other critical stakeholders.
INEC is also expected to convene an expanded stakeholders’ meeting and witness the signing of a peace accord by candidates and political parties contesting the election.
With 2,339,233 registered voters, 30 local government areas, 332 registration areas and 3,763 polling units, the August 15 election is emerging as more than an off-cycle governorship contest.
It is a test of INEC’s credibility, a trial run for the 2027 elections and, perhaps most importantly, a test of whether Osun’s political class can compete fiercely without turning political rivalry into a threat to peace.