INEC Extends Osun PVC Collection, Claims Full Poll Readiness

INEC has extended Permanent Voter Card collection in Osun State to 31 July after just 62 per cent of newly registered voters collected their cards. Chairman Joash Amupitan insists the commission is fully prepared for the 15 August governorship election, citing 4,427 BVAS devices and completed logistics. Recent attacks on collection centres and the incomplete collection rate, however, raise questions about the gap between official claims and conditions on the ground.

Published 31 Jul 2026, 7:35am WAT

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared itself fully prepared for the Osun State governorship election scheduled for 15 August 2026, while extending the collection of Permanent Voter Cards for newly registered voters until Friday, 31 July.

INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan made the announcement on Wednesday in Osogbo during an expanded stakeholders’ meeting. He disclosed that only 322,822 newly registered voters — approximately 62 per cent — had collected their cards by the original Tuesday deadline. The extension, he said, is intended to prevent disenfranchisement.

The commission reported a total of 2,339,233 registered voters across 30 local government areas, 332 registration areas and 3,763 polling units. Fourteen political parties are fielding candidates.

On technology, Amupitan stated that 4,427 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices, including backup units, have been configured and deployed. Biometric verification through BVAS will be the sole method of accreditation; no manual alternative will be permitted. Results are to be scanned and uploaded directly from polling units to the IReV portal. A mock accreditation exercise is scheduled for 1 August across selected local government areas in the three senatorial districts.

The chairman emphasised that the outcome of the election would be determined by the ballot box rather than violence or intimidation. He noted that security agencies had been engaged to deploy patrol vehicles around remaining PVC collection centres.

The readiness claim comes against a backdrop of recent security incidents. Gunmen attacked at least one PVC distribution centre in Odo-Otin Local Government Area, making away with packs of cards. INEC maintains that stolen cards cannot be used for accreditation because they require live biometric verification. Affected voters are to receive reprinted or downloadable cards.

While the commission presents a picture of operational completeness — non-sensitive materials distributed, sensitive materials secured at the Central Bank branch in Osogbo, and training of ad hoc staff underway — the incomplete PVC collection rate and documented attacks on collection points raise practical questions about the gap between declared readiness and conditions on the ground.

Voters yet to collect their cards have until the close of business on 31 July at registration area centres. Collection will then continue at local government offices until 7 August.