INEC says 1.9 million voters have collected their cards ahead of Saturday’s governorship poll, with the rest secured at the CBN.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 1,906,390 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been collected ahead of the 15 August governorship election in Osun State.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC‘s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, said the figure represents 81.50 per cent of the 2,339,233 registered voters in the state.
Where the uncollected PVCs are
Haruna said the remaining 432,843 PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent of registered voters, have been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the commission’s established practice.
He said some registered voters whose PVCs were damaged, defaced or lost applied for replacement cards. “Similarly, it should be noted that some persons with damaged, defaced, or lost PVCs applied for replacement of their cards. A total of 6,101 among those who applied printed downloadable copies of their PVCs,” the statement read.
INEC says it is ready for a transparent election
Haruna said the commission has published a polling-unit-by-polling-unit breakdown of the collected PVCs across all 30 local government areas of Osun State on its official website, to promote transparency and boost public confidence ahead of the poll.
He reiterated INEC’s readiness to conduct the election. “The commission reassures political parties, civil society organisations, media, and the good people of Osun state of its total readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election on Saturday, 15th August 2026,” the statement added.
The Osun governorship election features incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Najeem Salam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), among 15 candidates on the ballot, in a contest expected to draw close attention from domestic and international observers as a significant test of the political landscape in Nigeria’s South-West region.
