The Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State has announced plans to administer oaths of neutrality on all security personnel ahead of the August 15 governorship election, as training and BVAS deployment advance

The Independent National Electoral Commission in Osun State has said all security personnel deployed for the August 15 governorship poll will take an oath of neutrality to ensure credibility and impartiality during the exercise.

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The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed this on Wednesday in Osogbo while briefing journalists on the commission’s level of preparedness.

Babalola announced a series of trainings for security personnel, Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers.

Security training will hold at the state level from 13 to 15 July and at senatorial districts from 17 to 19 July.

Supervisory Presiding Officers will be trained between 31 July and 2 August, while Presiding and Assistant Presiding Officers will be trained on 9 August.

On technology, the REC said 3,763 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System devices will be deployed across all polling units in the state, with an additional 664 units as backups.

The BVAS will be used for voter accreditation and direct upload of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal for greater transparency. All devices are already charged and await configuration closer to the election date.

Babalola emphasised the importance of stakeholder collaboration, particularly with the media, to ensure a successful poll. She noted that the commission remains open to advice and strategic recommendations.

Voters in Osun State will go to the polls on 15 August to elect a governor. Incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party, while the All Progressives Congress candidate is Bola Oyebamiji, the African Democratic Congress fielded Najeem Salaam, and 11 other candidates are also in the race.