Barely seventy-two hours before voters head to the polls for the Osun State governorship election, electoral authorities have completed an expedited reproduction of ballot papers and official result sheets.
The late adjustment was mandated to accommodate the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala, along with his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, expanding the list of contesting political parties to fifteen.
The sudden turn of events follows a legal victory at the Federal High Court in Abuja in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026. The presiding court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognize, process, upload, and publish Dr. Ajala’s valid nomination documents, compelling the commission to adjust its pre-printed materials on an extremely compressed timetable.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, formally confirmed the development in an official statement issued from Abuja. He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to upholding judicial directives regardless of tight operational windows, noting that both ballots and result documentation were reprinted to guarantee full compliance.
“The commission has reprinted the ballot papers to include the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala, along with his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, in strict compliance with the Federal High Court order,” Haruna stated.
The operational focus shifted swiftly to Osogbo early Thursday morning, where sensitive election materials were released from the secure vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) branch in Osogbo. Local electoral officials, accredited party observers, civil society monitors, and joint security detachments overseen by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were present to inspect and verify the newly integrated materials.
Heavy security escorts have since begun transferring the sensitive packages from the central bank facility to electoral officers stationed across all thirty Local Government Areas in Osun State. Despite the abrupt operational turnaround, electoral officials maintain that distribution remains on track for polling units to open seamlessly on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
