The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said out of the 1,955,657 registered voters in Osun State, 1,479,959 electorate have obtained their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) as of Sunday, July 10, 2022, ahead of the July 16 governorship election in the state.

Yakubu disclosed that sensitive materials would be delivered to the wards 24 hours to the election, adding that the PVCs collection would continue until Thursday, July 14, two days to the governorship poll.

The INEC chairman further urged all registered voters that are yet to collect their PVCs to obtain their cards before Saturday.

He said this while speaking at the INEC Osun 2022 Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Meeting held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital on Tuesday.

He added that the election materials have been deployed to all the state INEC local government area offices.

Yakubu stressed that the commission will not take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate in the July 16 gubernatorial election.

The INEC boss assured political parties, candidates, and the electorate that the “choice of who becomes the next governor of Osun State is entirely in the hands of voters”.

He said INEC would also set a record as Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) would also be deployed as ad hoc staff selected from National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for the governorship poll, urging the electorate to cooperate and protect them.

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He added that five INEC National Commissioners, 12 Resident Electoral Commissioners, and other senior INEC officers would be in the state to support the Osun office to deliver a credible, free, fair, and conclusive election.

The INEC chairman further disclosed that 87 Observer groups (79 domestic and 8 international) deploying 7,790 field observers have been accredited for the election.

“Similarly, 94 media organisations (92 national and 2 international) deploying 624 journalists have been accredited to cover the election.

“On election day, the national headquarters of INEC in Abuja will monitor the election throughout the state. Our Zoom Situation Room will be activated. We are working to ensure that accredited observers and the media are invited to join us at intervals to provide live reports from the field.

“At the same time, citizens can contact us on our various platforms such as the toll-free INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC) telephone line in addition to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts,” Yakubu added.

He further stated that INEC would work with security and anti-corruption agencies to tackle vote-buying during the gubernatorial election, noting that the commission’s effort would be boosted by the establishment of the “Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal as recommended by the Uwais Committee in 2009, reinforced by the Lemu Committee in 2011 and the Nnamani Committee in 2017.”

The Star