Yiaga Africa raises concern over delayed voting in Osun
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
Yiaga Africa has raised concerns over possible delays in the distribution of election materials following the court-ordered inclusion of the Social Democratic Party in Saturday’s Osun governorship election.
Chairman of the 2026 Osun Election Observation Mission, Dr. Asmau Maikudi, said the development had disrupted the Independent National Electoral Commission’s deployment schedule.
She said the shortened timeframe could affect the movement of election materials from the state level to Registration Area Centres and polling units.
Consequently, Maikudi warned that the pressure on the deployment process could lead to logistical errors, delayed arrival of materials and late commencement of voting.
“Yiaga Africa is concerned that such late judicial interventions create avoidable operational pressure and heighten the risk of delayed deployment, logistical errors and late commencement of polls,” she said.
Meanwhile, Maikudi urged INEC to resolve outstanding technical issues with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System after the mock accreditation exercise exposed challenges involving fingerprint, facial and older Permanent Voter Card verification.
She also called for stronger coordination within the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to ensure adequate protection for election officials, urging INEC to strengthen contingency plans because the credibility of the election would depend on timely deployment, reliable technology and consistent application of the law.
