Tense Osun Poll: Vote Buying Worries INEC

*CSOs flag 13 high-risk LGAs, appeal for police neutrality

*Kudos, knocks trail Tinubu’s directive to unfreeze state’s account 

*Police assure Nigerians of peaceful, credible governorship election

Adedayo Akinwale, Sunday Aborisade and Linus Aleke in Abuja and Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

Ahead of the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday expressed concern over the growing threat of vote buying, warning that the practice could undermine the credibility of the poll if not decisively checked by security agencies.

This comes as Civil Society Concerns on Election Security in Osun urged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to remain neutral and professional during the state governorship election.
Also yesterday, reactions continued to trail President Bola Tinubu’s Thursday’s directive ordering the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to return to court and vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government’s bank accounts, with political parties, civil society organisations and security agencies expressing divergent views over the development.

While the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Osun State and the opposition Accord Party commended the President’s intervention as a demonstration of respect for democracy and the rule of law, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) warned that the directive could undermine the operational independence of anti-corruption institutions.
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus said the directive issued by the President to the EFCC was due to massive public outcry and not by respect for the rule of law.

Also, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, yesterday assured Nigerians that adequate security arrangements had been put in place to ensure a peaceful, free, fair and credible governorship election.
Speaking on INEC’s level of preparedness, a senior official of the Commission who spoke to THISDAY on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly on the election, said while the electoral body was fully prepared for the exercise, vote buying remained one of its biggest concerns given the heightened political atmosphere in the state.

The official disclosed that the commission had completed virtually all critical preparations for the election, including the deployment of election materials, training of personnel and testing of its electoral technology.
“As far as INEC is concerned, I can confidently say we are over 90 per cent prepared for the election,” the official said.
He revealed that INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, recently led a comprehensive readiness assessment in the state, which involved six National Commissioners, directors, senior officials and technical staff.

According to him, the exercise, which lasted about five days, involved a thorough review of every aspect of the commission’s preparations, including a mock accreditation exercise to test the effectiveness of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
The official, however, stressed that INEC alone could not guarantee a credible election, saying the success of the poll would depend on the conduct of security agencies, political parties and their supporters.

He described the political environment in Osun as “quite tense,” urging all stakeholders to exercise restraint and uphold the rules of engagement.
“Our biggest concern is vote buying, which we fear could be widespread. We want the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to remain professional, impartial and above board in enforcing the law.

“Vote buying is prohibited under the Electoral Act. It is a criminal offence and one of the greatest threats to the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process. Anyone arrested for the offence should face the full weight of the law,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the Civil Society Concerns on Election Security in Osun has urged the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to remain neutral and professional during the state governorship election.

The group made the call yesterday, during a press conference at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Executive Director Samson Itodo, who spoke on behalf of the group, warned that public confidence in the electoral process would depend largely on how security personnel conduct themselves before, during and after the poll.

“This is the last major election to be held ahead of the 2027 general election. Therefore, it has a lot of significance, and it’s a unique opportunity to inspire public trust, not just in the management of the election, but election security.
“The public would want to see institutions demonstrate neutrality so they can have confidence in those institutions,” Itodo stated.
 He warned that the level of pre-election violence and political tension recorded in parts of Osun State could undermine public trust and confidence if not effectively addressed.

 He disclosed that findings from Yiaga Africa’s election observation and risk assessment showed that 13 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas have been classified as high-risk due to recurring violent incidents and heightened political tension.
These he said included Irewole, Osogbo, Boripe, Obokun, Ife North, Ife Central, and parts of Ijesaland.
He added. “Our comprehensive assessment and monitoring process shows that there have been about 34 known fatalities across incidents recorded between 2025 and June 2026.”

In the meantime, reactions have continued to trail President Tinubu’s directive ordering the EFCC to return to court and vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government’s bank accounts ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

IPAC, in a statement issued yesterday by its Caretaker Committee Chairman, Odesola Oluseye Titus, described President Tinubu’s directive to the EFCC as a demonstration of respect for democratic principles and the rule of law.
The council said the President’s action had reinforced confidence in Nigeria’s democratic institutions and should serve as a guide for all agencies involved in the electoral process.

Commending Tinubu for directing the anti-graft agency to vacate the court order, IPAC also praised the President’s insistence on the independence and professionalism of law enforcement agencies.
Quoting Tinubu’s position that anti-corruption agencies should discharge their statutory responsibilities “independently, professionally, without fear or favour or political interference,” the council described the President as “the father of the nation.”

It urged INEC, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies to emulate the President’s example by performing their constitutional responsibilities impartially.

According to IPAC, the President’s directive should guide the conduct of all agencies involved in the forthcoming governorship election, stressing that security agencies and electoral officials must act professionally to sustain public confidence in the electoral process.
The council also appealed to political actors to respect the rules of engagement and urged eligible voters to come out en masse on election day, expressing confidence that every vote would count.

However, the opposition Accord Party demanded the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, insisting that he should be held accountable for approving what it described as the unconstitutional freezing of the Osun State Government’s bank accounts.

Speaking at a world press conference in Abuja, the party’s National Chairman, Chief Maxwell Mgbudem, commended President Tinubu for what he termed a timely intervention that prevented a constitutional crisis.
He, however, argued that the EFCC chairman had embarrassed the President, damaged Nigeria’s democratic image and brought the anti-corruption agency into disrepute.
Mgbudem said if Olukoyede failed to resign voluntarily, President Tinubu should remove him from office to restore public confidence in the Commission.

The Accord chairman also called for the immediate release of about 60 of the party’s members allegedly detained in Abuja, Osun and Nasarawa States, saying their continued detention could heighten political tension ahead of the election.
He further urged INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible governorship election, describing the Osun poll as a critical test for Nigeria’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a sharp contrast, the Executive Director of CISLAC and Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, criticised the President’s intervention, warning that directing the EFCC to seek the lifting of the court order could weaken the operational independence of anti-corruption institutions.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Rafsanjani argued that while governance should not be unnecessarily disrupted, presidential intervention in specific enforcement actions created a dangerous precedent.
According to him, the EFCC derives its powers from the law and should be allowed to investigate and prosecute economic crimes professionally and without political interference.

He maintained that if the Commission took an inappropriate decision, the proper avenue for redress remained the judiciary rather than executive intervention.

Rafsanjani also stressed that lifting the restriction on the state’s accounts should not signal the end of investigations into the alleged diversion of public funds, insisting that anyone found culpable should face prosecution regardless of political affiliation.

In the meantime, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, assured Nigerians that the Nigeria Police Force had concluded comprehensive security arrangements for the August 15 governorship election.

Hosting civil society organisations in Abuja ahead of the poll, the IGP said the Police had no preferred candidate or political party and remained committed to ensuring that the lawful choice of the people prevailed.

He disclosed that adequate personnel and operational assets had been deployed across Osun State, while intelligence gathering and threat assessments had been intensified in collaboration with INEC, the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) and other stakeholders.

Disu warned that anyone involved in vote buying, ballot box snatching, voter intimidation, thuggery or any other electoral offence would be dealt with in accordance with the law, irrespective of political affiliation.

He also urged political parties and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully, stressing that elections should be contests of ideas rather than violence and intimidation.

The Police boss encouraged eligible voters to come out without fear to exercise their constitutional rights, assuring them that the Force would provide a secure environment throughout the electoral process.

The political atmosphere in Osun also became more charged yesterday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) asked Governor Ademola Adeleke to apologise to President Tinubu and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for accusing them of influencing the EFCC’s action against the state government.

The party maintained that while the President objected to the timing of the account freeze, he did not exonerate the Osun State Government from the allegations being investigated by the anti-graft agency.

The House of Representatives Minority Caucus said the directive issued by the President to the EFCC was due to massive public outcry and not by respect for the rule of law.

It added that the move exposed deep contradictions and a deliberate plot to intimidate the Osun State Government ahead of next week’s gubernatorial election.

Its Leader, Hon. Fredrick Agbedi and the Spokesman of the caucus, Hon. Afam Ogene in a statement issued yesterday, said the President’s directive exposed “a government at war with itself,”.

The caucus pointed out that while EFCC Spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, stated on national television on Thursday that the freezing of Osun’s account was done  “without a valid court order”, the President’s statement later same Thursday afternoon directed the Commission to go to court to “vacate the order.”

The caucus noted: “So, which is it? Was there a court order or not?. Is the President not aware of what his own appointees are saying and doing?

“Has the President lost control of his army of sycophants who behave like lords over the people? Or are they simply trying to hide an illegality that has already been exposed?”

The Caucus also accused the President’s senior aides of being the first to circulate and defend the EFCC’s initial press release supporting the EFCC overreach.

The Caucus described the August 5 EFCC action as the latest in what they termed a sustained campaign of intimidation against Osun by the APC-led Federal Government.

The caucus decried that for months, the federal government had illegally withheld and seized statutory allocations due to Osun Local Governments, describing it as economic strangulation aimed at crippling governance at the grassroots ahead of elections.”

It noted: “ The gestapo-style arrest and detention of the Secretary to the Osun State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye and others over flimsy accusations is a direct attack on the institution of the state government.”

Also yesterday, the World Bishops Council (Africa Chapter) and the Religious Engagement (Christianity) Committee working for Governor Adeleke’s re-election endorsed the governor for a second term, describing him as “a man of destiny” who had promoted peace and religious harmony in the state.

The groups urged voters to re-elect Adeleke and announced a seven-day fasting and prayer programme for peaceful elections and the governor’s victory.

In another development, the Imole Campaign Council dismissed an alleged oath-taking video circulating on social media and purportedly linked to Governor Adeleke, describing it as a desperate smear campaign orchestrated by the APC.

The council insisted that Adeleke neither authorised nor participated in any oath-taking exercise, maintaining that his re-election bid was anchored on his performance in office and the goodwill of the people rather than intimidation or superstition.