The Imole Campaign Council (ICC), the campaign organisation of Osun State Governor and Accord Party governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has raised an alarm over an alleged plot to declare Saturday’s governorship election inconclusive.
The council alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was under pressure from leaders and governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to frustrate what it described as Adeleke’s “imminent victory” and undermine the will of Osun voters.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Chairman of the ICC Media and Publicity Committee, Bamidele Salam, urged INEC to resist any attempt to compromise the integrity of the election and uphold its responsibility as an impartial electoral umpire.
“Our party wishes to inform Nigerians of a sinister plan by INEC to declare the ongoing governorship election inconclusive, to hijack our candidate’s victory and subvert the will of the gallant Osun electorate,” Salam said.
The campaign council appealed to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to honour his commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election.
It also reminded INEC, the APC and security agencies of President Bola Tinubu’s reported directive that the Osun election should not be compromised.
The council further called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to strengthen security around collation centres across the state.
According to Salam, the heightened security presence was necessary to prevent what the council described as attempts by “hoodlums hired by the APC” to disrupt the collation process.
The campaign body also alleged that ballot boxes were snatched at some polling units and called on security agencies to investigate the incidents and arrest those responsible.
It urged accredited local and international election observers to closely monitor the collation process and speak out against any action that could undermine the credibility of the election.
The allegation comes against the backdrop of heightened tension surrounding the Osun governorship contest.
The election is being closely watched after weeks of accusations by rival political camps over vote buying, electoral logistics, security and the handling of sensitive election materials.
The Imole Campaign Council had previously raised concerns about alleged shortcomings in recent off-cycle elections, including claimed shortages of ballot papers, BVAS-related challenges and other logistical problems.
There is also a historical sensitivity surrounding the word “inconclusive” in Osun politics.
The 2018 Osun governorship election was declared inconclusive by INEC after the initial poll, with a supplementary election subsequently held.
The decision became the subject of prolonged political and legal controversy.
As of Saturday, August 15, 2026, INEC’s official timetable confirmed that the Osun governorship election is being conducted today.
Reports on the ongoing collation indicated that results were still being uploaded to INEC’s IReV portal, with Adeleke reportedly holding a narrow lead at one stage of the process. However, the final result had not been declared at the time of those reports.
The allegation by Adeleke’s campaign council has not, by itself, established that INEC is planning to declare the election inconclusive.
Any such declaration would have to come from the electoral commission based on the applicable electoral rules and circumstances surrounding the poll.
The immediate focus therefore remains on the transparent collation of results, the protection of election materials and personnel, and the peaceful acceptance of the final outcome by all parties.
