The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations that ghost voters and individuals allegedly recruited to vote illegally participated in the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
The commission said the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) prevented unregistered individuals from being accredited and casting ballots.
INEC Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Dayo Oketola, disclosed this during an interview with Arise News on Monday.
Oketola also urged members of the public to be cautious about videos and claims circulating online, warning that some election-related content may be misleading or manipulated.
He explained that voters were required to be registered and successfully accredited at their designated polling units before they could participate in the election.
“We are in an age of AI, misinformation, and disinformation. Not everything you see is true. With BVAS in play for any election in Nigeria, there is no room for ghost voters or hired voters,” he said.
Oketola added that the accreditation process made it impossible for someone who was not registered at a particular polling unit to vote.
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“You cannot vote in an election unless you have been registered and accredited for that specific polling unit. Be careful what you believe, particularly in an election driven by information management and mismanagement,” he said.
According to him, the election recorded a 50.116 per cent voter turnout, which he described as one of the strongest figures recorded during recent off-cycle elections.
He attributed the turnout partly to improved preparations and logistics, while encouraging Nigerians to become more involved in the electoral process.
Oketola also described the peaceful completion of the poll as evidence of Nigeria’s developing democratic maturity, despite the tension and concerns that preceded the election.
The election was won by incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, who secured 511,067 votes, while his closest challenger, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Oyebamiji, polled 444,815 votes.