Osun Election: Yiaga Africa urges parties, candidates to promote peace ahead of poll

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

Ahead of the August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election, civil society organisation Yiaga Africa has urged political parties, candidates and other stakeholders to prioritise peace and work towards ensuring a credible and violence-free electoral process.

The organisation expressed concern over growing anxiety among residents and observers, with fears that the election could be marred by violence if proactive steps are not taken.

Speaking during Yiaga Africa’s engagement with civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media ahead of the poll, a member of its Board, Ezenwa Nwagwu, said the apprehension surrounding the election extended beyond Osun State.

He called on political parties, candidates, their supporters, security agencies, CSOs and voters to act as ambassadors of peace before, during and after the election.

Nwagwu said many voters in Osun were already worried about the conduct of the election, adding that people outside the state were also closely monitoring developments.

“Most of the electorate in Osun State are already worried and concerned. Not just in Osun State, even outside the state, people are thinking that this election is going to be an ‘Armageddon’,” he said.

He urged stakeholders to prove sceptics wrong by working collectively to prevent violence during the electoral process.

“Osun voters and all election stakeholders must disappoint those who believe this election will be violent. That can only happen if there is a collective effort to ensure that violence does not occur,” Nwagwu added.

He also urged voters to shun violence and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to intensify voter education across the state’s 30 local government areas and area offices.

Meanwhile, the Head of Knowledge Management and Learning at Yiaga Africa, Safiya Bichi, disclosed that the organisation would deploy 300 stationary observers and 32 roving observers across the state’s 30 local government areas for the election.

Bichi explained that the deployment would be guided by Yiaga Africa’s Sample-Based Observation (SBO) methodology, with observers stationed at selected polling units to independently assess and verify the credibility of the electoral process.

She said the methodology would help the organisation determine whether the votes cast by citizens correspond with the official results announced by INEC.

Bichi added that Yiaga Africa’s pre-election assessment had identified emerging trends, particularly security-related concerns that could affect the smooth conduct of the governorship election.

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