Osun Traditional Worshippers Seek Postponement Of August 08 Guber Election
The Osun State chapter of the traditional religion worshippers association, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the August 08 gubernatorial election in the state.
The President of the association, in a letter dated January 20, 2026 and addressed to the INEC chairman, Dr. Oluseyi Atanda, said the postponement is necessary because the 2026 Osun Osogbo Festival would also be coming up in the week of the election.
OSUN DEFENDER had earlier reported that the grand finale of the 2026 Osun Osogbo festival would come up on August 07, a day before the gubernatorial election.
Atanda in the letter which was received by the commission, said holding the election on August 08, may pose security risks as there are bound to be restrictions on movement on Friday August 07, which may be very difficult and very challenging to enforce due to travellers from other parts of Nigeria and outside the country, who attend the annual cultural rendezvous.
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The letter reads, “We are aware that the Election date in Osun State has been fixed for
Saturday 8 August 2026. However, as a religious body, we shall be asking for the shifting of the said date. We want to bring it to your notice that the Osun Osogbo Festival shall be coming up that same week.
“Osun Osogbo Festival is a sacred connection to Osogbo and has become a World Tourism Festival. The Osun Osogbo Festival is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the festival has been on for over 20 years drawing large crowds all over the world.
“The Osun Osogbo Festival is currently the largest crowd-pulling Festival in Nigeria. We want to bring it to your notice that the dates for the festival for this year have been fixed between the 27th of July, 2026 to 7th of August, 2026.
“The said dates had been prefixed and calculated traditionally in harmony with some other festivals and spiritual rites. By custom, the Friday 7th of August 2026 is the grand finale for the festival and the festival activities on that Friday 7th of August 2026 will not end until about 6:00pm after the Arugba retires back to the Palace. Many adherents and tourists from within and outside Nigeria would have been in town especially on the 7th of August 2026 for the Osun Osogbo Festival.
“The festival is not usually shifted as it is customarily held on a spiritually calculated Friday. By history, the festival
was moved twice and the aftermath effects were disastrous.
“Sir, we want to draw your attention to the fact that Election will be holding the following day 8th of August 2026 and this may pose security risks because there are bound to be restrictions of movements on Friday
which may be very difficult and very challenging to enforce due to the travellers
from Nigeria and outside Nigeria especially those who came from abroad.
“We want you to know that Politicians may want to take advantage of the crowd to cause mayhem in view of the election coming up the following day. It is our Fundamental Right to protect the sacredness of Our Spiritual Festival.
“We want you to know sir, most notably, the Presidential Election of President Muhammadu Buhari was shifted from 14th of February 2015 to 28th March due to security reasons. We are using the medium to seek for the shift in date of the coming election in Osun State,” Atanda noted.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
