By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has reaffirmed its commitment to conducting an inclusive, credible and secure governorship election in Osun State, declaring that democracy cannot be complete if it excludes persons with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), made the declaration on Saturday during an interactive session with media executives in Osogbo, 15 days before the August 15 governorship election.
He said the Commission had deployed a range of assistive devices across polling units based on its disability mapping of the state to ensure that vulnerable voters participate fully in the electoral process.
According to him, the measures include braille ballot guides for visually impaired voters, magnifying glasses for persons with albinism and those with low vision, EC40H poster manifests for hearing-impaired voters, as well as priority voting queues for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and the elderly.
“Democracy is incomplete if it excludes vulnerable populations,” Amupitan said, adding that the initiative reflects INEC’s commitment to inclusive elections.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the Commission would deploy personnel and materials to 3,763 polling units across 320 wards in the state’s 30 local government areas. He said 2,339,233 registered voters are expected to participate in the election, with candidates from 14 political parties on the ballot.
To improve election logistics, Amupitan announced an increase in the number of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines from 4,427 to 5,130 to cater for split polling units in Ife East, Irewole, Egbedore, Ede North and Osogbo, while backup BVAS devices have been doubled from 664 to 1,328.
On security, he said INEC had strengthened collaboration with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), with risk assessments conducted in identified flashpoints, including Atakumosa East and West, Boripe, Ede North and South, Ife Central, Ifedayo, Ila, Osogbo, Ifelodun and Oriade local government areas.
“The safety of every voter, observer and INEC official remains our top priority,” he said, warning that any attempt to disrupt the election would be met with the full force of the law.
Amupitan also addressed concerns over the recent theft of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Okuku, Odo-Otin Local Government Area, and Ife Central, assuring affected voters that the stolen cards could not be used to cast votes because accreditation requires live biometric verification through the BVAS.
He said the Commission had directed its ICT department to reprint the stolen PVCs or allow affected voters to use downloadable PVCs during the election.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that the Commission was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to curb vote-buying. He said plainclothes anti-corruption officers would be deployed around polling units to arrest both vote buyers and sellers.
Amupitan commended traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, and the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji, for supporting peace efforts ahead of the election.
Reaffirming the Commission’s neutrality, he said INEC remained committed to delivering a transparent electoral process.
“We do not care who wins the election; we only care how they win,” he said, expressing confidence that the Osun governorship poll would set a new benchmark for democratic excellence in Nigeria.
The interactive session was attended by INEC National Commissioners, Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner Barrister Oluwatoyin Babalola, leaders of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON), as well as senior officials of the Commission.
