President of the ANAP Foundation and founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside, has said that Nigerians are monitoring Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, as he oversees the Osun State governorship election.
Peterside made this revelation on Saturday while appearing on an Arise TV programme focused on the Osun governorship election, stressing that the conduct of the poll would be closely watched by Nigerians.
He said the outcome of the election would provide an important indication of INEC’s level of preparedness ahead of the 2027 general elections. 
According to him, the Osun election would serve as a “link pin” to the 2027 elections, but Nigerians should not assume that a successful poll in Osun would automatically guarantee a successful general election in 2027.
“Osun will serve as a link pin to the 2027 election, and Nigerians should not go with the notion that because Osun was successful, then automatically the 2027 general election will be successful,” he said.
Peterside also warned against deliberate delays in the electoral process, particularly in areas considered to be strongholds of a particular candidate.
He said any deliberate attempt to delay voting or the transmission of results in such areas could raise serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
“In a situation where an election is deliberately delayed because it is a weak area for a particular candidate, clearly, it is a form of rigging,” he said.
He added that claims of technical glitches or other problems during the process should be carefully scrutinised, noting that such incidents could undermine public confidence in the election.
Peterside further expressed the expectation that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, election results should be uploaded promptly after voting and collation.
“All things being equal, by 5pm or 6pm, we expect that all the results must have been uploaded, as we experienced in 2023,” he said.
