Osun guber: INEC announces timeline for party primaries

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the schedule for party primaries ahead of the 2026 Osun State governorship election.

Speaking at an expanded stakeholders’ engagement in Osogbo on Wednesday, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, said party primaries, including the resolution of disputes, will run from November 24 to December 15, 2025.

According to Agboke, the exercise is in line with Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates political parties to democratically nominate their candidates.

Submission of nomination forms EC9 (personal particulars) and EC9B (list of candidates) via the commission’s online portal will take place from January 15, 2026 (9 am) to February 9, 2026 (6 pm). Access codes for the submission process will be available for collection from December 15, 2025, at the INEC headquarters.

The 2026 Osun governorship election is scheduled for August 8, 2026. Copies of the timetable will be distributed to political parties for compliance.

“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.

“Let me at this juncture provide you with the current electoral statistics of Osun state as contained in the commission’s database as at 31st day of July, 2025.

“Number of registered voters – 1, 954,800, Number of permanent voter cards (PVCs) collected – 1, 594,006, Number of Uncollected PVCs – 360,794, Number of Registration Areas/Electoral Wards – 332, Number of Polling Units – 3763. INEC has announced the commencement of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) throughout Nigeria.

“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 the 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.

“This completes the online registration. I must note specially here that anyone who completes the online forms without the biometrics has not completed the process of registration. He or she must ensure a visit to the INEC local government office in his area.

“Similarly, apart from the biometrics on the 25th August, 2025, any prospective registrant has the opportunity to go to the local government offices of INEC for a physical registration.

“By this and without using online facility, the prospective registrant can come to any of the local government offices of INEC in Osun State for his or her registration.

“This will be done seamlessly without any difficulty at NO COST. The following people are eligible to register: An adult who has never registered before – fresh registration, A child who has attained the age of 18yrs or more – fresh registration, A voter who has lost his permanent voter card – replacement, A voter whose PVC had been defaced – replacement, A voter whose PVC has been lost – transfer.

“A critical examination of the above statistics has shown the large number of PVCs uncollected in Osun state. Concerted efforts are being made with the stakeholders to continue to create awareness for the electorates, not just to register, but to ensure the collection of the cards. Let me reiterate here that, as it stands now, NO PVC. NO VOTING. You are hereby enjoined to collect your PVCs whenever the window of collection opens.

“With respect to the special provisions for persons with disabilities (PWDs), INEC remains committed to an inclusive electoral process in line with the Electoral Act 2022 and the International best practices. For the CVR exercise, we have made provisions to ensure that persons with disabilities are well taken care of in the same manner as persons without disabilities.

“For the purpose of the upcoming election in Osun state, provisions have been made to ensure that people with disabilities are not disenfranchised. Such provisions include, but are not limited to provision of braille ballot guides for visually impaired voters, the provision of magnifying glasses for persons with low vision, the provision of assistive listening devices for persons with hearing impairment and allowing for priority voting queues for the PWDs, including the elderly, and pregnant women.

“I implore members of the disability community to indicate their needs during the registration process so that such requests can be harvested and factored into the Election Day arrangements.

“To sensitise the eligible registrants in this regard, INEC Osun state has engaged and is still engaging in a massive advocacy across the state. We have appeared on different Radio and Television programs.

“We have visited religious organisations, both Christians and Muslims, we have visited marketplaces, the traditional rulers, civil society organisations and security agencies.

“The advocacy is still in progress. I implore Osun residents to come out to register accordingly. While they must come out in large numbers to register, they must prevent their children or wards, who are underage or minor, from registering.

“If such an underage person should register and be apprehended, such is punishable under the Electoral Act. We all must equally be vigilant to prevent foreigners from participating in the CVR.
I want to use this medium to thank and appreciate the entire members of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Osun State, for the cooperation so far,” the statement read.

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