Osun Guber: INEC Resumes Results Upload On IREV

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has resumed uploading results of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election to its Result Viewing (IReV) portal, after halting the process for over three hours.

The commission had stopped uploading results at 8:48:08 p.m., leaving the figures at 3,292 of the expected 3,763 polling-unit results, representing 87.48 per cent, when THE WHISTLER checked the portal at 10:30 p.m.

However, by 12:20 a.m., a fresh check showed the total had risen to 3,570 of 3,763 expected results, representing 94.87 per cent.

The earlier stoppage had stirred anxiety in the camp of Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord party, prompting him to formally appeal to President Bola Tinubu to rein in security agencies allegedly working to compromise the outcome of the election.

In a statement on his official X handle, Adeleke alleged that desperate and rejected politicians were attempting to disrupt collation centres across the state, insisting that “the Nigeria Police, DSS, Nigerian Army, NSCDC and other security agencies must strictly adhere to this directive, while INEC must be given every necessary support to conclude the process and deliver a credible and transparent outcome.”

In a related development, the Imole Campaign Council, Adeleke’s campaign organisation, had earlier raised the alarm over an alleged plan by INEC to declare the election inconclusive, a move it claimed was designed to frustrate the governor’s expected victory.

In a statement signed by the Chairman of the council’s Media and Publicity Committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam, the council alleged the plan was being coordinated by several governors and APC leaders, describing it as “one of the last minute desperate moves of the party to hijack our candidate’s victory and subvert the will of the gallant Osun electorate.”

The council had also called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies to provide adequate security at collation centres, alleging that ballot boxes had already been hijacked by thugs in some polling units and demanding that “perpetrators be arrested to face the full wrath of the Law.”

Afrobeats star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, had also added his voice to the growing unease, taking to X to demand that INEC conclude the collation process without delay, writing, “UPLOAD THE REST OF THE RESULTS,” and warning, “Osun will not allow another inconclusive.”

A member of the Imole Campaign Council, speaking to THE WHISTLER before uploads resumed, described the situation as unsettling, saying, “It’s terrible as we don’t know what’s happening. But one thing is sure, we would win this even if we are afraid.”

With uploads now resumed and results at 91.61 per cent as of the latest check, attention shifts to the outstanding wards as collation continues toward a final declaration by INEC’s Returning Officer at the state collation centre.