Osun Decides: Vote Buying and Observer Intimidation mar Governorship Election, Yiaga Africa Raises Alarm
Last update: August 15, 2026
Disclaimer: This website may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase. We only recommend products or services that we personally use and believe will add value to our readers. Your support is appreciated!
It’s been largely peaceful in Osun, but there’s a big problem bubbling underneath – Yiaga Africa says money is talking loudly at polling units.
Here’s what we know so far:
So, Osun is deciding today, and while things have been calm on the surface, election observers are not exactly smiling.
According to reports monitored by cbinews.tv, civil society group Yiaga Africa has flagged widespread vote buying as a major concern in today’s governorship election.
Speaking to journalists at Ward 04, Unit 10, Ataoja in Osogbo, the group’s Executive Director, Samson Itodo, said their observers across the state noticed something worrying – voters openly telling people who they voted for. A classic tell-tale sign that inducement is at play.
His words: “The major issue we have observed across the state so far is the incidence of vote buying.”
He noted that while some voters proudly announced their choice after voting, others kept mum. He’s now calling on the authorities and political actors to allow voters to make a free choice without cash influence.
And it’s not just vote buying. Yiaga also raised an alarm over intimidation of observers. One of their partner groups reported that an observer was harassed and chased away from a polling unit for several minutes by party agents. They’ve urged security agencies to look into it and let accredited observers do their job.
On the bright side, voting started early in most places. Yiaga said voting had commenced in 79% of polling units where they had observers, and by 9:30 a.m., accreditation and voting had started in 97% of those units. Not bad, especially after that late court judgement that threw INEC’s logistics into a bit of a scramble.
Itodo commended the peaceful turnout and the presence of security personnel, but warned that we’re not out of the woods yet.
“We are now approaching a critical stage of the election, which is the collation of results. That is where we are very concerned that things could go wrong,” he said.
He’s appealing to security agencies to stay professional and neutral, and to parties and their supporters to steer clear of violence and intimidation.
We’ll keep watching the collation closely.
Credit: cbinews.tv
#OsunDecides #OsunElection2026 #YiagaAfrica #VoteBuying #NigeriaDecides #Osogbo #INEC
