The campaign organisation of Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has raised an alarm over the presence of Ebonyi State’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Pauline Ugoyenka, in the state, demanding that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) order her immediate withdrawal.

The Imole Campaign Council said Ugoyenka’s name does not appear on the roster of RECs formally deployed to oversee Saturday’s poll, and questioned why she was in Osun at all.

In a statement issued Thursday, the council’s Media and Publicity Committee chairman, Bamidele Salam, said the group had received intelligence placing the Ebonyi REC at Tees Continental Hotel on Laro Timileyin Street in Osogbo’s Ayekale area.

He further claimed that Ugoyenka, described as an ICT expert, had earlier lodged at Aenon Suites — a facility he alleged also housed persons brought into the state from Lagos and Abuja by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Citing an INEC circular dated 3 August addressed to RECs from 15 states contributing personnel to the Osun exercise, Salam noted that Ebonyi was conspicuously absent from that list.

“So, who authorised Mrs Pauline Ugoyenka’s presence in Osun, and what exactly is she doing here? This is an election, not a covert operation,” the statement read, with the council pressing INEC’s national leadership to publish a full roster of officials assigned to the poll and to investigate what it termed her “unofficial” presence in the state.

“We demand immediate exit of the Ebonyi REC as she was not posted here for any official duties and her presence constitutes grave danger to the electoral health of Osun people,” the statement said.

Beyond the presence of the REC, the Adeleke campaign organisation also demanded clarification from INEC over alleged concerns about the customisation of ballot papers and result sheets for Saturday’s election.

The council said electoral materials intended for the Osun governorship election should be clearly customised, produced and verified for the poll.

“We also seek immediate clarification from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on why electoral materials meant specifically for the Osun governorship election would not be duly customised,” it said.

It warned that the campaign would oppose any process it believed could undermine the credibility of the election.

“Accord will not accept any arrangement capable of compromising the integrity, transparency or credibility of the August 15 election,” the council said.

The council urged INEC to provide immediate clarification and ensure that only properly customised ballot papers and result sheets produced and verified for the Osun governorship election are used.

“Anything short of this raises serious questions about the credibility of the process and will be firmly resisted,” it warned.

The Osun governorship election is scheduled for Saturday, 15 August, with Governor Adeleke seeking another term against other candidates, including the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, and the African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salam.