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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said preparations for the August 15 Osun State governorship election are on schedule, with most pre-election activities already completed and over 79 per cent of registered Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) distributed.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with News Central TV on Friday, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, said the commission has intensified voter education and stakeholder engagement to ensure a credible and inclusive election.
“We recruit only people that are competent based on competence, neutrality, integrity and professionalism.”
Oluwatoyin Babalola says INEC is completing the final phase of staff training to ensure election personnel are properly prepared to carry out their responsibilities during… pic.twitter.com/8IRzwgT63I
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) August 7, 2026
“We have been involved in massive voter education using multiple media channels,” Babalola said.
“We are focused on the electorate to train them and to educate them on how, where and when to vote. We have also paid particular attention to persons with disabilities to ensure we have an inclusive election.”
She said INEC has also targeted women, students and young voters through a series of sensitisation programmes across the state.
“Women, students, student union leaders and young female voters. From 1st of June we have been engaging with them at the state level and at the local government level,” she said.
“We have had several sensitisation programmes, and we still have one that is ongoing with civil society groups.”
On voter registration and PVC distribution, Babalola described the voters’ register as fundamental to a credible election.
“A credible register is like the syllabus. Without a credible register, you cannot run a good election,” she said.
According to her, the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which began in August 2025, ended in April 2026 in Osun State, after which 512,622 PVCs were produced for distribution.
“As of yesterday, we have distributed 406,180 cards, which represents 79.2% of the cards we are going to distribute,” she said.
The REC also said the commission has maintained close collaboration with key election stakeholders, including political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations and the media.
“We encourage the media to get involved,” she said, noting that media accreditation closed on August 2.
“We have been engaging with critical stakeholders. We have engaged with civil society groups, political parties, security agencies, the media, and we have had robust collaboration with them.”
Babalola added that nearly all activities contained in the commission’s election timetable have been completed. She said INEC is also in the final phase of recruiting and training ad hoc personnel for the poll.
