Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Professor Abdulganiyu Raji, during his interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday, July 15, 2022, said hundreds of thousands of voters cards were not collected despite the efforts by the Independent National Electoral Commission to sensitise voters in the state.

According to Raji, Osun State has the highest number of people who registered during the continued voter registration exercise.

He said INEC registered 1,955,657 but only 1,479,000 collected their voters' cards. 

He said, “In Osun State the total number of registered voters is 1,955,657 and out of this 1,479,000 have collected their PVCs. We have a little less than 500,000 cards with us that are yet to be collected as of today; that is about 470,000 that are yet to be collected. So 1,479,000 are eligible to vote not that we are disenfranchising the remaining. Those are the ones that collected their cards that can actually show up tomorrow (today) and vote.

“When we are preparing for this election we did a lot of voter education and extensive sensitization of the voters even toward the end of the continued voter registration. You recall that Osun State has the highest number of people who registered during the continued voter registration.

“Similarly when we were doing the exercise for the collection of PVCs, we were overwhelmed in nearly all the centres. Last week the chairman was there and fully approved we extend the collection of the voter cards in the 332 wards.”

However, as the people of the state vote for a new governor today, July 16, 2022, 15 candidates are expected to participate in the contest.