Osun 2026: BFCD, INEC Intensify Campaign Against Youth Voter Apathy

As preparations intensify for the August 15 Osun State governorship election, the Broad Focus for Community Development (BFCD), in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stepped up efforts to tackle voter apathy among young people through sustained voter education and mobilisation.

The renewed campaign was unveiled on Friday during a Youth and Election Nexus programme organised by BFCD at its office in Dada Estate, Osogbo. The event brought together youth groups, civil society organisations and electoral officials to explore practical strategies for increasing youth voter turnout and reducing the incidence of rejected ballots during the forthcoming poll.

Speaking at the programme, BFCD Team Lead, Enike Vincent, said the initiative was informed by findings indicating that greater youth participation would significantly boost voter turnout and strengthen democratic governance in the state.

According to him, the organisation’s analysis revealed that if at least 50 per cent of eligible young voters participate in the election, Osun would witness a substantial improvement in voter turnout.

Vincent noted that one of the campaign’s key objectives is to reduce the high number of invalid votes recorded in previous elections through continuous voter education and public enlightenment.

He disclosed that approximately 18,000 ballots were rejected during the last governorship election, describing the figure as alarming and avoidable.

“Election is not where you sit in your room with your phone and begin to announce unofficial results. We don’t want that anymore.

“Young people should come out en masse to vote. The use of your phone should be to report genuine incidents from your polling unit, not to spread fake election results. We also want to see the number of rejected ballots reduced to the barest minimum,” Vincent said.

He further revealed that BFCD had earlier engaged the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to advocate enhanced voter education as part of measures to minimise rejected ballots in the August 15 governorship election.

Also speaking, the Head of Voter Education, Gender and Inclusivity at INEC, Osun State, Rufus Ariyo, stressed that youth participation remains indispensable to the success of democracy, noting that young people constitute the largest proportion of registered voters.

He warned that democracy would suffer if the youth failed to actively participate in choosing their leaders.

“The beauty of democracy is majority participation. If young people are not coming out to vote in large numbers, then only a few people will decide who leads us, and that is not good for democracy,” Ariyo said.

He urged young people not to allow economic hardship or disappointment with governance to discourage them from exercising their civic responsibility.

“The changes young people are clamouring for can only happen when they are involved.

Whoever they want, let them use their votes to bring that person in. Whoever they don’t want, let them use their votes to change the person peacefully. That is the beauty of democracy,” he added.

Delivering a presentation at the programme, a consultant with Providence Consulting Limited, Festus Ojewumi, identified unemployment, poverty and worsening economic conditions as major drivers of voter apathy among