Trending 
Election observers have reported several irregularities in Saturday’s Osun State governorship election, including BVAS failures, voting without Permanent Voter Cards, missing statutory notices, voter-register discrepancies and alleged widespread vote buying.
These anomalies were revealed by BallotEyes, the election observation initiative of the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative, BBYDI, and its partners during a press briefing on Saturday.
The observers said BVAS malfunctioned in 33 of the 75 polling units from which they had received reports.
“Of particular concern, the accreditation failures have not fallen evenly across the electorate,” the group said, adding that “women and older voters are disproportionately failing to be captured by the devices,” said Olasupo Abideen, the founder of FactCheck Africa.
The group also reported that voters were accredited and allowed to vote using their National Identification Numbers instead of PVCs at 27.3 percent of the sampled polling units.
“Our observers reported that voters were being permitted to be accredited and vote using their National Identification Number (NIN) in place of a Permanent Voter Card (PVC),” it said.
BallotEyes said Form EC30AI, a statutory notice required at polling units, was not displayed at 45 percent of the polling units in its sample.
It also flagged discrepancies between the number of registered voters displayed at some polling units and figures contained in INEC’s official register.
Vote buying was another major concern.
“We are deeply concerned by the scale of vote-buying activity our observers have witnessed today,” the group said.
“The reports describe more than isolated incidents; they suggest coordinated schemes.”
It cited alleged vote-buying incidents in Ayedire, Ejigbo and Ife Central local government areas, involving agents of different political parties.
In Ejigbo, the observers said a youth group disrupted an alleged vote-buying operation and seized cash being distributed.
Voting was also reportedly suspended at Ward 03, Polling Unit 013 in Oriade LGA at about 11:30 a.m. because of a shortage of voting ink pads.
Despite the concerns, the observers commended INEC for early deployment and timely commencement of voting in most locations.
They also described security personnel as largely professional and said voters generally conducted themselves peacefully.
However, the group warned that the irregularities could undermine the election’s credibility.
“Taken together, pose a serious risk to the credibility of today’s vote,” BallotEyes said.
It called on INEC to deploy technical teams to polling units affected by BVAS failures, clarify the accreditation requirements, correct discrepancies in voter-register figures and ensure missing statutory notices are displayed.
The group also urged security agencies to investigate reported vote-buying incidents and prosecute those found culpable.
The Osun election is being contested by incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party and All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji, among other candidates.
Adeleke won the 2022 election on the PDP platform after defeating then-incumbent APC governor Gboyega Oyetola. He later left the PDP for Accord and is seeking a second term in Saturday’s election.
Results collation is ongoing across the state’s 30 local government areas.
#OsunDecides2026: “Malfunctioning BVAS, non-display of Form EC30AI and organised vote buying, threatening the credibility of the Osun governorship election.”
Olasupo Abideen, Convener of FactCheck Africa, says observers have recorded several issues that could affect public… pic.twitter.com/Fjjghoma4h
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) August 15, 2026
