The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that “There must be no mysterious glitches” in this Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

Atiku, in an address at the National Youth Leadership Summit of the ADC in Abuja on Wednesday, also warned that there should be no unexplained delays or manipulation of the process.

He told INEC that election materials must arrive promptly, and that accredited voters must be allowed to vote freely.

“Votes must be counted honestly, and results must be transmitted transparently and in accordance with the law,” he further demanded.

The former vice president described the build-up to the Osun election as “deeply troubling,” and condemned the scale of security deployment to the election, which he noted appeared as though Nigeria is preparing for war rather than conducting an election.

Atiku reminded those in authority that elections are civil engagements, not military operations.

“Ballot papers are not bullets. Voters are not enemy combatants. Opposition members are not insurgents,” he stated, adding that if Nigeria possesses such enormous security capacity, “why is the same overwhelming force not being deployed against the terrorists, kidnappers and bandits who are killing our people, abducting our children and driving citizens from their communities?

“Our security forces must protect voters, not frighten them. They must secure the ballot, not create an atmosphere of siege around it.”

He called on President Bola Tinubu-led administration to resist any temptation to turn institutions of the Nigerian state into instruments of partisan advantage.

“The police belong to Nigeria. The military belongs to Nigeria. INEC belongs to the Nigerian people. None of them belongs to the APC.

“And let nobody misunderstand our demand for peaceful elections as weakness.

“We are asking only for what the Constitution and democracy guarantee every Nigerian: the freedom to vote and the right to have that vote count.

“If our institutions cannot conduct a free, fair, peaceful and transparent election in one state, Nigerians will legitimately ask what confidence they should have in the general election next year,” he stated.

Atiku added that every vote cast in the Osun governorship election must count and the will of the people should be allowed to prevail.

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