The Osun State House of Assembly on Thursday expressed concern over what it described as the “sudden redeployment” of the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state, Mutiu Agboke.
- +Osun 2026: Assembly faults REC redeployment, raises fears of poll compromise
Agboke, in a statement, announced his redeployment to Ondo State and expressed gratitude to journalists in Osun for their support during his tenure.
Agboke, in a statement, announced his redeployment to Ondo State and expressed gratitude to journalists in Osun for their support during his tenure.
The transfer was personally announced by Agboke in a message he shared on the official media WhatsApp group of INEC in Osun late on Wednesday.
The tersely worded statement read in part, “I have been transferred to Ondo State. I thank you most sincerely for the support given to me throughout my stay here in Osun State. May God Almighty support you all as well.”
Agboke’s transfer comes at a time when preparations for the 2026 Osun governorship poll are gathering momentum.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on the development on Thursday, the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Adewale Egbedun, said the parliament had also learnt that “further deployments of interested persons are being planned and may extend to other key officials, including the Administrative Secretary, Electoral Officers, Assistant Electoral Officers, and ICT personnel across the state.”
Egbedun, who alleged “a deliberate pattern of actions aimed at influencing the electoral process in Osun State,” noted that Ekiti State, which will hold its governorship election before the Osun poll, has not witnessed “such widespread deployment of electoral officials.”
“This raises serious and legitimate questions. Why Osun State?” he asked.
He declared that no amount of administrative changes or deployment of officials would override the will of the Osun people at the poll.
“These calculated efforts, no matter how structured, cannot alter the resolve of our people. The people of Osun State are politically conscious, vigilant, and determined to ensure that their votes count and reflect their true choice,” he said.
Egbedun also alleged that there were plans in parts of the state, particularly within the Ife/Ijesa Senatorial District, to compromise the electoral process through the use of APC members in critical roles such as returning officers and supervisors.
“This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We are placing the public on notice.
“Let it be made absolutely clear that whoever is deployed to conduct elections in Osun State must do so in strict accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral Act. The election must be free, fair, and credible. Anything short of this will be firmly resisted by the people of Osun State,” he said.
He called on the international community, development partners, and observers of democratic governance to take an interest in developments concerning the Osun governorship election.
He added that, as representatives of the people, the parliament would insist on a free, fair, and credible election.
Voters in Osun State will go to the polls on August 15 to elect a governor, with the contest already being described by observers as a high-stakes race.
The incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, is seeking re-election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, while a former Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Bola Oyebamiji, is contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress is also in the race, alongside candidates from 11 other political parties contesting the election.
