The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will electronically transmit results of the forthcoming Osun State governorship election to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to enhance transparency.
The Commission also said it would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter authentication and accreditation during the poll.
Speaking at the INEC Stakeholders’ Forum in Osogbo on Tuesday, the Commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Muhammed Haruna, said the electoral body had concluded the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, processing 499,809 applications, including 381,817 new voter registrations.
According to him, the exercise has significantly expanded the state’s voter register ahead of the governorship election.
Haruna said the Commission would replicate the technology successfully deployed during the Ekiti governorship election.
“The Commission will deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter authentication and accreditation, and results will be electronically transmitted to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to ensure transparency—the same technology combination that delivered a 96 per cent BVAS functionality rate and a 98 per cent IReV completion rate in Ekiti,” he said.
The National Commissioner also raised concerns over the growing menace of vote buying, describing it as a major threat to the credibility of elections in the country.
He said INEC was working with anti-corruption agencies and other relevant stakeholders to combat the practice ahead of the Osun governorship election.
Referring to reports from the Ekiti governorship election, Haruna described vote buying as “the single most alarming development” and stressed the need for urgent collective action to prevent a recurrence in Osun.
He reminded political actors and voters that vote trading is a criminal offence under Section 22 of the Electoral Act 2026, punishable by a fine of not less than ₦5 million, imprisonment for up to two years, or both, in addition to a 10-year disqualification from contesting any public office in Nigeria.
