The Independent National Electoral Commission has duplicated the ballot papers for the Osun State governorship in order to accommodate Dr. Olugbenga Ajala, the Social Democratic Party’s candidate three days before the election.
This is because the commission is scheduled to deliver sensitive materials to the state’s thirty local government areas today (Thursday) in preparation for Saturday’s governorship election.
The distribution is anticipated to take place on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s property in Osogbo, the state capital.
“Sensitive materials will be distributed tomorrow, and journalists will be informed of the time the exercise will commence,” stated Musa Olurode, the state INEC spokesperson.
The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, signed a statement on Wednesday stating that Ajala and his running mate, Faseke Oladipo, had been added to the ballot as a result of a July 22, 2026, ruling from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/344/2026, the SDP and Ajala, on the one hand, and INEC, on the other, received the ruling.
The commission claims that the court mandated that it “forthwith recognize, accept, upload, process, and publish” Ajala’s name and details as the SDP candidate for governor.
“As a result, the ballot papers for the election, scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2026, are being reproduced to reflect this addition, bringing the total number of political parties contesting the election to fifteen (15),” INEC stated.
It further stated that in order to reflect the SDP candidate’s inclusion, the election results sheets were also being duplicated with the voting papers.
The commission pledged to conduct a free, fair, and credible election in Osun State to political parties, candidates, and the general public.
Ajala declared that the party was ready to win with his induction.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Ajala revealed this following INEC’s listing of the party as one of the poll’s contenders.
Ajala acknowledged that the party had little time to solicit votes, but he maintained that the SDP might still win the election in spite of the setback.
Ajala responded, “We were in court throughout before we got judgments,” when asked what he was doing as he waited for INEC to list.
It’s like a 100-meter race, so there isn’t much we can do in the next 48 hours. A few competitors have completed 75 of the 100 meters.
“We are now approaching the beginning. It will be an unfair competition, you know. We’ll try our hardest. But before we make a firm decision about our course of action, let’s see what the outcome will be.
“I have a lot of hope for success. We are actually happy.
With this development, there are now 15 political parties running in the election.
