2027: INEC lists 407 safety flashpoints forward of elections in Osun

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed this on Wednesday whereas briefing members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, on the fee’s degree of preparedness for the forthcoming elections.

Babalola mentioned ground-truthing workout routines had been ongoing throughout the 30 native authorities areas of the state to establish potential safety challenges and tough areas requiring particular operational consideration.

She disclosed that the recognized flashpoints and tough terrains would information safety planning and acceptable interventions.

Providing an replace on the electoral timetable, Babalola disclosed that INEC had accomplished 9 of the 14 main actions scheduled for the 2027 basic elections, whereas the remaining 5 had been at varied phases of implementation.

She listed the publication of the ultimate register of voters on December 15, 2026 and the publication of the discover of ballot on December 29, 2026, among the many excellent actions.

According to her, “the presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections were scheduled for 6 February 2027.”

On voter registration and Permanent Voter Card, PVC, assortment, the REC mentioned the preliminary register of voters had been displayed bodily and electronically to allow eligible voters to make claims and objections.

“1,903,390 PVCs had been collected before the August 2026 governorship election, while 427,216 remained uncollected.

“An additional 6,883 cards had been collected since October 27, bringing the reported collection rate to 81.74 per cent.

“PVC collection is still ongoing. Eligible voters who are yet to collect their cards should take advantage of the opportunity to ensure they are ready to participate in the forthcoming elections,” she mentioned.

On technological preparedness, she disclosed that “Osun had 5,763 functional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, with another 1,328 available as backup devices.

“The machines would be deployed for voter accreditation and uploading of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Configuration, quality assurance, charging, mock accreditation exercises and the training of technical personnel are among the activities scheduled for completion ahead of the elections.”

The REC disclosed that recruitment of ad-hoc election workers would shut on November 18, 2026, whereas preparations had been concluded for coaching venues throughout the state.

She mentioned coaching for presiding officers, collation officers and election safety personnel would happen between December 2026 and January 2027 to make sure enough preparation and efficient coordination.

On safety preparations, Babalola introduced the deployment of INEC Security and Alert Notification System, INEC-SANS, to strengthen safety monitoring, intelligence gathering and well timed responses to rising threats.

She additionally disclosed that 98 Super Registration Area Centres and 97 Registration Area Centres would function lodging and operational bases for election personnel, stressing that the amenities would require enough safety protection earlier than, throughout and after the elections.

On logistics, the REC mentioned the fee had recognized the necessities for delicate and non-sensitive election supplies, whereas reusable supplies from the August 2026 governorship election had been correctly batched for subsequent deployment.

She added that some non-sensitive supplies had arrived, with extra provides anticipated, whereas delicate supplies can be delivered throughout the week of the election.

Speaking on voter training, Babalola mentioned sensitisation actions had been ongoing throughout Osun, together with the manufacturing and distribution of voter training jingles translated into native languages to encourage participation.

She disclosed that media accreditation for the 2027 basic elections commenced on October 30 and would shut on December 1, 2026.

The REC referred to as on safety businesses to “intensify intelligence sharing, commence early deployment planning and maintain effective inter-agency coordination. The successful conduct of elections requires the collective responsibility, commitment and cooperation of all stakeholders, particularly the security agencies.”