By Adeleye Kunle
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated that as of Sunday, 1,479,595 Permanent Voters’ Cards had been collected out of 1,955,657 registered voters in Osun State, TrackNews reports.
This comes as the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, announced that 21,000 police officers would be deployed for the election.
This was revealed at an election stakeholders meeting in Osogbo on Tuesday ahead of the Osun gubernatorial election on Saturday.
He stated that the figure is roughly 76 percent of registered voters.
Prof Yakubu stated that the INEC has extended the deadline for collecting PVCs to Thursday, 14 days before the election.
The police chief stated that 21,000 police officers will be deployed for the election to adequately protect both people and property during and after the election.
In his words, the Inspector-General promised that the police “will leave no stone unturned to ensure a free, fair, and credible election in Osun state.”
Speaking at the event, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, urged both voters and political actors to follow election guidelines and conduct themselves peacefully.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Prof. Abdulganiy Raji, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), hinted that sensitive election materials would arrive in Osun State on Tuesday, while non-sensitive materials had already been batched to Polling Unit Level and were ready to be conveyed to Registration Area Centres (RACs).
Other candidates who attended and were represented at the stakeholders’ meeting included Osun State Deputy Governor Benedict Alabi and All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Ademola Adeleke.
