By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of sensitive election materials to the 30 local government areas of Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The exercise commenced on Thursday, 13 August, 2026, at the Central Bank of Nigeria premises in Osogbo under the supervision of the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, following a delay triggered by a Federal High Court judgment directing INEC to include the Social Democratic Party on the ballot.
The court order required the commission to print additional ballot papers and result sheets after the SDP was added to the 14 political parties for which ballot papers had earlier been printed.
As of 11:30 p.m., buses deployed for the exercise were leaving the CBN premises in Osogbo for their designated local government areas.
The Senior Programme Manager of Kimpat Development Initiative, Mr Umar Mohammed, described the arrival and distribution of the materials as encouraging, saying there had initially been concerns that the court ruling could affect the election timetable.
Mohammed explained that INEC had to make additional logistical arrangements following the court order, raising fears that the election could be postponed.
He, however, said the arrival of the materials had eased those concerns and commended the commission’s deployment strategy, particularly its apparent prioritisation of distant and difficult-to-access local government areas.
He nevertheless expressed concern that rainfall could disrupt the distribution, noting that dark clouds were already gathering.
Mohammed said heavy rainfall could make the movement of the sensitive materials difficult as INEC worked to complete the exercise ahead of Saturday’s poll.
The distribution marks a major stage in INEC’s preparations for the election, following the commission’s adjustment of its logistics to accommodate the court-ordered inclusion of the SDP on the ballot.
