The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prof. Sadiq Umar Abubakar Gombe, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies that the massive deployment of personnel witnessed during the Osun State governorship election may be difficult to replicate nationwide in the 2027 general elections.
Gombe said the scale of security and electoral personnel deployed to Osun exposed a major logistical challenge that must be addressed early if Nigeria is to achieve credible, free and fair elections in 2027.
Speaking at a news conference on the outcome of the Osun governorship election, the SDP chairman said each local government area in the state was reportedly placed under the supervision of a Commissioner of Police, raising questions about the availability of sufficient senior security personnel to cover the country’s 774 local government areas during the general elections.
“What happens in Osun is a great lesson and challenge. We have to start thinking about it,” Gombe said.
He noted that Nigeria had only a limited number of Commissioners of Police and questioned whether the country could deploy similar levels of senior security personnel across the federation during the 2027 elections.
According to him, the challenge also extends to INEC, given the unprecedented deployment of electoral officials and other personnel during the Osun poll.
“I don’t know whether we have up to 30 national commissioners, either commissioners, electoral commissioners and directors, that will be there in each of the 36 states during the general elections,” he said.
Gombe urged INEC and other stakeholders to begin preparations immediately, stressing that the few months available before the 2027 elections should be used to develop alternative mechanisms for effective personnel deployment.
The SDP chairman, however, commended INEC for the conduct of the Osun election, describing the commission’s performance as a positive indication that credible elections were possible in Nigeria.
“Despite all the challenges and faults, I want to say this to you: INEC, with the team, the leadership, the staff and members of the commission generally, conducted this election professionally and did their best,” he said.
Gombe said the SDP would support any electoral process that genuinely reflects the will of voters but would not hesitate to criticise INEC where it falls short of its responsibilities.
He also urged security agencies to prevent the use of state resources and political influence to interfere with elections outside the jurisdictions of political leaders.
According to him, the presence of governors, ministers, National Assembly leaders and other high-ranking political actors in Osun during the election raised questions about the deployment of state resources and the extent of political influence in off-cycle elections.
He called on security agencies to strictly enforce electoral regulations governing movement and activities on election day.
Gombe also urged opposition parties to draw lessons from Osun and begin preparations for 2027 based on national interest rather than individual political ambitions.
He said any proposed opposition coalition must be founded on competence, capacity, character and knowledge, rather than merely the desire to defeat the ruling party.
“The opposition need to learn a lesson, whether their leaders won or not, whether the opposition leaders are ready to genuinely come to terms with the reality of the challenges of Nigeria, and the need that we are in a rescue mission,” he said.
The SDP chairman said the outcome of the Osun election had demonstrated that Nigerian voters could assert their choices when given the opportunity to freely exercise their franchise.
He expressed confidence that the SDP would present a strong presidential ticket for the 2027 elections and urged Nigerians to reject vote buying, intimidation and violence.
Gombe said the party would continue to advocate a political system driven by competence, capacity and character, insisting that the interest of Nigeria must take precedence over personal political ambitions.
