Osun Mock Accreditation Fails in Under 40 Minutes, Coalition Demands Answers from INEC

Osogbo — August 1, 2026 | AccordWatch

Osun Mock Accreditation Fails in Under 40 Minutes, Coalition Demands Answers from INEC

The Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens (CCNC) has raised the alarm after Saturday's mock accreditation exercise, conducted by INEC's Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun State, ran into technical failures within less than 40 minutes of starting, demanding urgent answers from the Commission ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

In a statement, CCNC spokesperson Comrade Raufu Sodiq said the exercise, meant to test the readiness of election materials and serve as a dress rehearsal for the main poll, instead raised serious concerns. According to the group, the exercise — scheduled to begin at 8:30am — started late at some polling units, and within 40 minutes of commencing, BVAS machines stopped functioning across all selected polling units statewide. The coalition said the machines remained non-functional as of 11:53am, unable to recognise fingerprints, facial data, PVCs, or any other information required for accreditation.

The coalition described accreditation as the foundation of any credible election, arguing that if the process fails, the integrity of the entire electoral exercise is put at risk regardless of how well logistics or security are handled. It noted that INEC has had roughly four years, along with budgetary allocations and training programmes, to prepare for the current election cycle, making Saturday's failure especially concerning less than two weeks to polling day.

Questions to INEC

The coalition posed a series of questions to the Osun REC and INEC's national leadership, including:

- Whether INEC is genuinely prepared for the August 15 election, given that a mock test failed across selected units this early, and what contingency plans exist for all 3,763 polling units in the state.

- Whether the failures reflect incompetence or something more deliberate, arguing that a lack of transparency breeds public suspicion.

- The specific technical cause of the BVAS failure — whether a software glitch, hardware defect, inadequate ad-hoc staff training, or configuration error.

- Why, after years of preparation and significant budget allocation, INEC continues to face such technical setbacks.

The coalition also called on the Osun REC and INEC leadership to resolve the issues identified during Saturday's exercise and to conduct another hitch-free mock accreditation before election day to restore public confidence.

Coalition's Position

CCNC said it remained committed to Nigeria's democratic institutions and did not wish to see INEC fail, but stressed that public faith in the process must be backed by evidence. The group urged the Osun REC to publish a technical report on the mock exercise's failure and called on the INEC Chairman to address Nigerians directly before August 15, providing clarity on the cause of the BVAS malfunction, plans to replace faulty machines, backup arrangements, and retraining of personnel.

The coalition insisted that Osun residents deserve an election in which their votes count, warning against technology becoming an excuse for disenfranchisement, and stated that INEC must demonstrate its readiness through action rather than assurances.

Signed:

Comrade Raufu Sodiq (Oluomo Success)

Spokesperson, Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens