The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State has begun formal preparations for the 2026 governorship election with the official posting of the Notice of Election in all 30 local government offices and the area office in Modakeke.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, made this known on Wednesday during an expanded stakeholders’ engagement held at the INEC office, Osogbo.
Dr. Agboke stressed that only those with Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will be eligible to vote, urging residents to collect over 360,000 unclaimed PVCs in the state.
“NO PVC. NO VOTING. You are hereby enjoined to collect your PVCs whenever the window of collection opens, I implore Osun residents to come out to register accordingly. While they must come out in large numbers to register, they must prevent their children or wards, who are underage or minor from the registration. If such underage should register and apprehended, such is punishable under the Electoral Act”, he explained further.
He announced the commencement of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and the official kick-off of the 2026 election timetable.
“The CVR exercise will begin nationwide on August 18, 2025, with an online registration phase via www.cvr.inecnigeria.org, followed by biometric capture from August 25 at INEC local government offices. Physical registration will also be available at no cost.
“Thereafter, he or she will generate a slip to take to INEC local government office within his place of residence. Later on the 25th of August,2025, the registrant will visit the local government office for his or her biometrics i.e the fingerprint and the facials. This completes the online registration. I must note specially here that anyone who completes the online forms without the biometrics has not completed the process of registration.
” He or she must ensure a visit to INEC local government office in his area. Similarly, apart from the biometrics on the 25th August, 2025, any prospective registrant has the opportunity to go to the local government offices of INEC for a physical registration.
“By this and without using online facility, the prospective registrant can come to any of the local government offices of INEC in Osun State for his or her registration. This will be done seamlessly without any difficulty at NO COST”.
Presenting the election timetable, Dr. Agboke disclosed that political parties will conduct primaries between November 24 and December 15, 2025, while submission of candidates’ particulars will run from January 15 to February 9, 2026. The governorship poll is scheduled for August 8, 2026.
“The notice of the 2026 Governorship Election for Osun State has been duly posted in all the 30 local government offices including the Area office at Modakeke. With this notice, all activities that will culminate into the 2026 Governorship election in Osun State has commenced.
“Going by the time table released by the headquarters of the commission, the conduct of party primaries including resolution of disputes arising from the primaries will start on the 24th day of November, 2025 and end on the 15th day of December, 2025. This is necessary to enable political parties democratically nominate candidates for the election as required by section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“The submission of forms EC9 ( personal particulars of candidates) and EC9B (Names/list of nominated candidates) online at the nomination portal of the commission at 9am on the 15th day of January, 2026 to 6pm on the 9th February 2026. Access code for the submission of nomination forms shall be available for collection on 15th December, 2025 at headquarters of the commission”, he stated.
He also lmplored political parties and other stakeholders to follow the timetable for the 2026 Governorship Election for Osun State with a view to tracking the various activities, he also added that copies of the timetable shall be made available to the political parties.
He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to inclusivity, outlining provisions for persons with disabilities, including braille guides, magnifying glasses, assistive listening devices, and priority voting queues for the elderly and pregnant women.
“I implore members of the disability community to indicate their needs during the registration process so that such requests can be harvested and factored into the Election Day arrangements”, he added.
Dr. Agboke also cautioned against underage registration, vote buying, electoral violence, and the use of fake news, urging political parties and stakeholders to promote peaceful participation.
He commended security agencies, civil society groups, and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) for their cooperation so far and appealed for sustained collaboration to ensure credible polls.
He assured that the commission would maintain transparency, fairness, and professionalism while deploying technology such as the BVAS for voter accreditation.
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