The Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State said it will relocate registration points for the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration exercise from local government secretariats currently under lock.
Osun LG secretariats have been shut since February 17, 2025, due to a tussle between the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress over control of councils.
The APC had claimed that the February 10, 2025, decision of the Court of Appeal, Akure, had returned its candidates elected in the October 15, 2022, local government elections, but sacked by the Osogbo Federal High Court in December 2022.
But the PDP insisted that the officials who emerged on February 22, 2025, are legally recognised to manage the affairs of council areas in the state.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo, the state capital, on Wednesday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Mutiu Agboke, said the affected INEC offices had been identified and would be moved to alternative locations to ensure the CVR proceeds without disruption.
Agboke said, “The CVR will start on the 18th day of August, 2025, with online registration.
“By this, the prospective registrant will visit www.cvr.inecnigeria.org to supply the necessary information about himself or herself.
“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 facial.
“INEC offices located inside local government secretariats are not shut down.
“However, INEC has harvested the number of those local government offices. We want to bring them out of the LG secretariats. We are working on that. Our headquarters had requested for their details and we have forwarded to them.”
Agboke also announced that activities for the August 8, 2026, Osun governorship election have officially begun, with notices posted in all INEC LG offices.
Party primaries are scheduled between November 24 and December 15, 2025, while submission of candidates’ particulars will run from January 15 to February 9, 2026.
He stated, “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 9 am on the 15th day of January, 2026, to 6 pm on the 9th February 2026.
“Access code for the submission of nomination forms shall be available for collection on 15th December, 2025, at the headquarters of the commission. I implore all the 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 contained therein. Copies of the timetable shall be made available to the political parties at this meeting in a short while. The 2026 Governorship election shall be conducted on the 8th day of August,2026.”
He appealed to political parties and other major stakeholders to work against the menace of vote buying, saying the electorate should be educated not to sell their votes.
The REC also called on all stakeholders to continue supporting INEC in the state for it to deliver a credible election, noting that the commission alone cannot deliver a peaceful and successful election without their cooperation.
