OsunDecides2026: ADC Candidate Tackles INEC Over Controversial Agents’ Tags

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in the Osun State election, Najeem Salaam, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of failing to provide accreditation tags to some of his party’s agents across the state.

Salaam raised the concern after arriving at his polling unit at about 10:39 a.m. on Saturday, claiming that the ADC had submitted the names and details of its agents through INEC’s designated platform ahead of the election.

He described the alleged failure to recognise some of the party’s agents as “worrisome and disturbing”, warning that the situation could affect the ADC’s ability to monitor the counting and collation of votes.

According to Salaam, all ADC agents in Ward 5, Ijebu, were allegedly denied accreditation tags, while similar complaints were reportedly received from about 10 local government areas across the state.

The candidate stressed the importance of accredited party agents during the vote-counting process, noting that their presence is necessary to observe and monitor proceedings at polling units.

Salaam said the party had brought the issue to the attention of the relevant authorities, who were looking into the complaints. He added that voting in Ijebu remained peaceful when he assessed the situation.

The ADC candidate questioned why INEC would fail to issue accreditation tags to party agents whose details had already been uploaded to the commission’s platform.

He warned that the credibility of the process could be questioned if the party’s accredited agents were ultimately prevented from carrying out their monitoring responsibilities.

Despite the complaint, Salaam expressed confidence in his chances of winning the election, provided INEC ensured a free, fair and level playing field and voters were allowed to make their choices without interference.

The ADC candidate also denied allegations that his party was involved in vote buying, saying the party had focused on engaging voters and explaining its programmes.

Salaam maintained that he had never bought votes and insisted that voters should be free to choose their preferred candidate.

He, however, expressed concern over what he described as the large amounts of money allegedly being circulated across the state during the election, stressing the need for voters to exercise their franchise freely.