Four governorship candidates in the forthcoming Osun State Governorship Election have petitioned the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), urging the commission to suspend the planned Osun Media Gubernatorial Debate scheduled for August 1, 2026.
The petition, dated July 28, 2026, was jointly signed by Engr. John Olufemi Adesuyi of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Dr. Rasaq Oyelami Saliu of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Lanre Farinloe Faroloye of the Action Alliance (AA), and Olalekan Enoch of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) which was Obtained by Thecasternews.
Addressed to the NBC Director-General in Abuja, the candidates alleged that the debate, being organised by Fresh FM, Rave FM, Uniq FM, Western Spring Television (WSTV), Diamond FM and other media organisations, violates the Nigeria Broadcasting Code by restricting participation to only four candidates from the PDP, APC, ADC and AAC.
The petitioners argued that the exclusion of other duly nominated candidates is discriminatory and inconsistent with the principles of fairness, equity, impartiality and equal access to broadcast facilities during election campaigns.
According to them, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised all governorship candidates contesting the election, stressing that licensed broadcasters are required under the Nigeria Broadcasting Code to provide equitable access and avoid preferential treatment capable of conferring undue political advantage on any candidate.
The candidates maintained that no objective, transparent or non-discriminatory criteria had been made public to justify the selection of only four candidates for the debate.
They further contended that the planned debate would give the invited candidates undue publicity, deny other contestants the opportunity to present their manifestos to voters, mislead the electorate and undermine public confidence in the neutrality of licensed broadcast stations.
The petitioners therefore urged the NBC to immediately suspend the debate pending a full investigation, examine the process used in selecting participants, determine whether the organisers breached the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, and direct the organisers to either include all duly nominated governorship candidates or adopt a transparent and non-discriminatory selection process.
They also called on the commission to impose appropriate sanctions on any broadcaster found to have violated the broadcasting code and to take further measures to ensure fairness in political broadcasting throughout the 2026 Osun governorship election.
Copies of the petition were forwarded to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Osun State, the Commissioner of Police, and the State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
