The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared its preparedness for the August 15 Osun State governorship election after conducting a statewide mock accreditation exercise to assess the effectiveness of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other electoral arrangements.
In a statement released by the commission on Saturday, INEC said the exercise formed part of its five-day readiness assessment tour of the state, designed to evaluate its technological, operational and logistical preparations ahead of the poll.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), said the mock accreditation exercise conducted across selected polling units in the three senatorial districts demonstrated the commission’s readiness to deliver a credible and transparent election.
He said the exercise also provided an opportunity for the commission to identify and address possible technical challenges before election day, adding that the ICT team promptly resolved issues recorded during the process.
INEC Validates BVAS Performance
Amupitan said the mock accreditation exercise confirmed the reliability of BVAS in improving voter verification and strengthening the credibility of the electoral process.
According to him, most voter accreditations during the exercise were completed through facial recognition within seconds, showing improved efficiency in the deployment of technology for elections.
“The mock accreditation exercise is our quality control protocol. What we saw today confirmed that our technological defence against identity theft and result manipulation is robust and fully operational,” the INEC chairman said.
To further strengthen election-day operations, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had increased the number of BVAS devices from 4,427 to 5,130, while backup devices were doubled from 664 to 1,328 to ensure quick replacement in case of malfunction.
He added that the election would involve 2,339,233 eligible voters across 3,763 polling units in 332 wards spread across the state’s 30 local government areas.
Security Plans Intensified
The INEC chairman said the commission had adopted a proactive security approach through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure a peaceful election.
He explained that intelligence-led security deployments would be carried out in identified flashpoints across the state, while collaboration with security agencies had been intensified to address vote buying and other electoral offences.
Amupitan also revealed that the training of 16,374 ad hoc staff was nearing completion, while all 14 political parties participating in the election had signed the Peace Accord facilitated by the National Peace Committee.
He noted that INEC had engaged traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife and the Ataoja of Osogbo, who pledged their support in encouraging peaceful participation among residents.
INEC Seeks Media Support
The commission said it had continued engagements with key stakeholders, including transport unions, to finalise logistics arrangements and ensure smooth movement of personnel and materials during the election.
Amupitan added that inspection visits to local government offices showed that non-sensitive election materials had already been deployed ahead of the August 15 governorship poll.
He called on journalists and media organisations to support the electoral process by verifying information before publication and avoiding reports that could spread misinformation or create unnecessary tension among voters.
The INEC chairman stressed that credible elections require the collective responsibility of electoral officials, political actors, security agencies, the media and citizens to protect the integrity of the democratic process.
