Trending 
A civil society organisation (CSO), YIAGA Africa, has raised concerns over an alleged breach of the voter accreditation procedure at a polling unit in Osogbo during Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
The election observer group said voters at Polling Unit 020, Open Space, Fiwasaye Junction, opposite the VIO House along Ring Road, were accredited and allowed to vote without presenting either a physical Permanent Voter Card or a downloaded copy.
In a critical incident report posted on X on Saturday, Yiaga Africa said voters instead presented sheets of paper containing their Voter Identification Numbers, which were reportedly used for accreditation before they were allowed to cast their ballots.
“At PU 020, Open Space, Fiwasaye Junction, Opp. VIO House Along Ring Road, Osogbo, voters were being accredited and permitted to vote without presenting a physical or downloaded PVC,” the organisation said.
“Instead, voters reportedly presented sheets of paper containing their Voter Identification Numbers (VINs), which were used for accreditation before they were allowed to cast their ballots,” it added.
According to Yiaga Africa, the polling unit had 265 registered voters, while 223 voters had collected their PVCs.
Yiaga Africa said the reported practice contravened the prescribed accreditation procedure and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to investigate the incident.
“This violates the prescribed accreditation procedure,” it said.
“Yiaga Africa calls on INEC to immediately investigate and ensure strict compliance with the electoral framework,” the statement added.
The allegation is significant because voter accreditation at Nigerian elections is designed to establish that the person presenting to vote is the registered voter whose details appear in the register.
INEC’s guidelines state that a voter must be registered in the polling unit and accredited through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
INEC has also described BVAS as the means through which voters are authenticated on election day, using biometric and facial verification.
The commission says its accreditation device is the basis for determining the number of accredited voters.
INEC has begun uploading polling-unit results to its IReV portal. As of 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, 3,103 of the expected 3,763 results had reportedly been uploaded.
Saturday’s election is a closely contested race involving incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party and All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji, alongside candidates from other parties.
The election is being held across Osun’s 30 local government areas.
Critical Incident Report: In PU 020, Open Space, Fiwasaye Junction, Opp. VIO House Along Ring Road, Osogbo, voters were being accredited and permitted to vote without presenting a physical or downloaded PVC. Instead, voters reportedly presented sheets of paper containing their…
— Yiaga Africa (@YIAGA) August 15, 2026
