Osun State voters are casting their ballots today, August 15, 2026, in the governorship election being conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the state’s 30 local government areas.

With 2.3 million registered voters and 15 candidates in the race, the election has recorded complaints over the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), allegations of vote-buying and an outbreak of violence at a polling unit in Ejigbo Local Government Area.

At 12:19 p.m., violence at Polling Unit 13, Ward 4, in Ejigbo LGA was said to have ensued after a youth found vote-buying materials allegedly belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the youth, the materials were seized because they could not watch illegality occur without doing anything about it.

But the people to whom the materials allegedly belong later arrived to whisk him away.

Earlier, at 12:02 p.m., voting had stopped at the polling unit following the eruption of violence, with INEC officials and residents scampering to safety.

‘I’ve Never In My Life Bought Votes’

Meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke raised the alarm over alleged intimidation of voters by the police and the APC.

The governor, who is the candidate of the Accord Party, had earlier cast his vote at 9:10 a.m. at Abogunde Comprehensive 009, Ward 02, Abogunde Sagba, Ede North.

“I have received reports on authority, information that there is one police officer who was deployed to come and do a hatchet job in Osun from Port Harcourt. They call his nickname London. He is here in Ede hiding. His own job is to come and destroy Ede, and then scare people, shooting so that they will not vote.

“So, I am calling on the Inspector-General of Police to take note. I am calling on the security agencies to take note. They should deploy him,” Adeleke stated.

Similarly, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Najeem Salaam, raised concerns over the alleged denial of accreditation to ADC party agents in some polling units.

According to Salaam, the names of the agents were duly uploaded, but he claimed that the repeated denial of their accreditation amounted to a failure on the part of INEC.

“When you request for the party to upload their party agent and we did, I don’t understand how and why the party agent will not be given a tag,” he said.

“So if at the end of the day we do not have this, then the process is very questionable.”

“Vote buying is out of it. I have never in my life bought votes,” he added.

But the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Oyebamiji, commended INEC and security operatives for their efforts towards ensuring a smooth and peaceful exercise.

Oyebamiji, who cast his vote at Ward 9, Unit 11, in Ikire, Irewole Local Government Area of the state, along with his wife, Sekinat, appealed to the people of Osun State to remain calm and conduct themselves peacefully as voting and the collation of results continue.

“So far, my assessment is that everything is going peacefully, especially this unit. The election is going peacefully; INEC is doing their job; at the same time, the security people are in charge.

“I need to appeal to the people that it is important that they conduct themselves and vote peacefully.”

Observers

International election observers were sighted at Polling Unit 001, Ward 04, Alajue, Ede South, at 11 a.m.

At 10:48 a.m., voters at Unit 1, Alajue, Bode Street, Ede South, were seen in a long queue waiting to cast their ballots.

The polling unit has 869 registered voters, with complaints about the BVAS being slow.

The APC governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, arrived to cast his vote at 10:47 a.m., while a long queue was also reported at Alajue PU 001, Ward 04, Ede South LGA.

The ADC governorship candidate, Najeem Salaam, arrived at his polling unit to cast his vote at 10:45 a.m.

Voting was also ongoing in Ijebu Ijesa, Oriade LGA, and Esa-Oke, Obokun LGA, as of 10:40 a.m., although the APC Campaign Council Director-General, Oluwole Oke, complained of a slight delay in accreditation due to issues with the BVAS device.

‘No Arrests’

The Commissioner of Police, Erale Samuel Etaifo, said about 100 people from neighbouring Ondo and Ekiti states were in custody over alleged plans to disrupt the election.

He added that no arrests had been made so far on Saturday in connection with electoral violence.

“We have about 100 people in custody who have come from neighbouring states of Ondo and Ekiti to disrupt this election for the past one month. However, no arrests have been made today (so far) as a result of electoral violence,” he said.

Earlier, some voters in Ejigbo LGA were agitating over alleged vote-buying by a political party in the area.

The development came amid reports of BVAS difficulties at Polling Unit 13, Ward 4, where a voter said the system did not recognise her.

At 10:01 a.m., an elderly registered voter at the polling unit said she would not leave until she cast her ballot after the BVAS failed to recognise her.

But voting was ongoing at Unit 18, Ward 7, Esa-Oke, in front of Osun State College of Technology, Obokun LGA, in the Osun East senatorial district, at 9:54 a.m.

At Iroyin Ayo Open Space PU 013, Elejigbo D/Elejemo Ward, Ejigbo LGA, party agents insisted that presiding officers count all the ballot papers before voting commenced.

The presiding officers said counting all the ballot papers would delay the start of the process.

The polling unit has 594 registered voters and is the polling unit of ADC candidate Najeem Salaam.

Accreditation and voting officially commenced at 8:30 a.m.

Earlier, at Sabo Agbongbe II, Ward 7, Polling Units 001 and 011, in Ede LGA, voting cubicles and other election materials had been set up by 7:50 a.m.

Voters waited to cast their ballots, while some checked their names on the voters’ register displayed at the polling units.

As early as 7:37 a.m., voters gathered at Egbedore Ward, Abogunde Primary School polling unit, awaiting the commencement of accreditation and voting.

Voters also turned out at Unit 7, Oke-Oja, in Osogbo, as INEC officials prepared the polling unit for the exercise.

Distribution of election materials for the Osun 2026 Governorship Election was reported to have begun across the state from 7:00 a.m.

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