President Bola Tinubu has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use Saturday’s Osun governorship election to demonstrate its readiness to conduct credible elections ahead of the 2027 general election.
Tinubu, in a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, urged the electoral commission to ensure the Osun poll is transparent, free, fair and orderly.
“As the people of Osun State head to the polling units to elect who will govern them in the next four years, I call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure orderly conduct of the election. The election must be transparent, free and fair. I urge INEC to ensure the integrity of the process,” Tinubu said.
The President described the Osun governorship election as the last off-cycle governorship poll before the 2027 general election, urging INEC to use it as an opportunity to demonstrate its preparedness for the national elections.
“INEC must use this last off-cycle election as a test case to demonstrate to Nigerians their full preparedness for the 2027 polls,” he said.
Tinubu also directed security agencies deployed for the election to provide adequate protection for voters and electoral officials and prevent attempts to disrupt the exercise.
“I have charged the Inspector-General of Police and other heads of security outfits taking part in the election to provide maximum security at polling units. No room should be allowed for troublemakers to disrupt the process,” the President said.
He stressed that protecting voters and election officials was critical to ensuring that citizens could exercise their constitutional rights without intimidation.
“Electoral officials and voters must be protected so they can perform their civic duties without fear or intimidation,” Tinubu said.
The President also urged eligible voters to come out in large numbers and vote for candidates of their choice, assuring them that adequate security measures had been put in place before and after the election.
“Voters should feel confident to go out in their numbers to vote for the candidate of their choice as all measures necessary to ensure a peaceful, free and fair election have been put in place,” he said.
Tinubu said the credibility of the election would ultimately be determined by whether its outcome reflected the choice of Osun voters.
“Our elections must be credible, and the outcome of the Osun Governorship election must reflect the will of the people,” he added.
The election is being contested by Ademola Adeleke of Accord, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
