The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of reprinted ballot papers and result sheets to agents of all participating political parties across the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The exercise commenced at the Commission’s state office in Osogbo on Thursday night, following INEC’s compliance with a Federal High Court judgment ordering the inclusion of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Dr. Francis Olugbenga Ajala, and his running mate, Faseke Babajimi Oladipo, in the election.
Recall that the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on July 22, 2026, delivered judgment in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, directing INEC to recognise, accept, upload, process and publish Ajala’s candidature for the August 15 governorship election.
INEC complied with the judgment on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, leading to the reproduction of the ballot papers and relevant result sheets to reflect the inclusion of the SDP candidates.
The reprinted materials were subsequently moved to the Osun State INEC office in Osogbo, where agents of the participating political parties gathered on Thursday night to witness the distribution process.
Speaking to journalists at the venue, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin O. Babalola, explained that the exercise would commence with the signing of the result sheets by the party agents before the distribution of the materials to the respective Local Government Areas.
Babalola said the materials had already been customised according to the polling units for which they were intended, with the names of the polling units clearly indicated on the documents.
“Everything is going to be customised. Believe it. All the results, they already have the name of the polling units on them,” the REC told journalists.
She explained that the customisation was intended to ensure that the materials could be properly identified and matched with their designated polling units during the electoral process.
According to her, the signing by party agents was an important part of the documentation process preceding the distribution of the materials.
“If you are signing, you see what happened,” she said, while explaining the procedure to the agents and journalists at the venue.
The REC also indicated that the materials had been prepared in a manner that would allow the Commission and the political parties to keep track of the documents allocated to the various areas.
The exercise was not, however, a distribution of the materials directly to polling units.
Rather, the reprinted ballot papers and result sheets were being distributed to agents of the participating political parties for the respective 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State.
The party agents were present at the INEC office to witness the process, beginning with the signing of the result sheets before the materials were handed over for the respective Local Government Areas.
