The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, has said the successful performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System during a mock accreditation exercise in selected local government areas has reinforced the commission’s confidence ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State.
Amupitan, who visited the state as part of INEC’s final assessment of preparations for the 20 June poll, said the commission was fully prepared to conduct a transparent, credible and widely accepted election.
The electoral body on Saturday carried out a mock accreditation exercise in parts of Ado Ekiti and Ikere Ekiti to evaluate the functionality of the BVAS devices that will be deployed across the state during the election.
Speaking to journalists in Ado Ekiti after monitoring the exercise alongside senior commission officials, Amupitan said the test was designed to ensure that the technology underpinning the election was operating effectively.
“The mock accreditation is essentially to test our facilities, especially our technology, and ensure that everything required for the election is functioning optimally,” he said.
According to the INEC chairman, the BVAS devices recorded strong performance, with fingerprint and facial verification taking an average of five to seven seconds per voter.
“We did not want to speak from an air-conditioned boardroom in Abuja or rely solely on paperwork. We went to the theatre of operations to see for ourselves how our systems are performing,” he said.
“What we observed during the mock accreditation exercise confirms that our technological defence against identity theft and result manipulation is robust and fully operational.”
Amupitan said the commission had also put contingency measures in place to address any technical failures on election day, including the deployment of backup BVAS devices and technical support teams across the state.
“We have provided upgraded backup BVAS devices and deployed technical engineers across the state. Any malfunctioning device can be replaced within minutes,” he said.
He also sought to reassure voters about the integrity of the results management process, insisting that no election results would be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal without proper verification.
“We will not upload results we cannot verify. In areas without network coverage, transmission is impossible until officers reach covered zones. That delay must not be used to discredit the process. Measures have been put in place to prevent incorrect results from being uploaded to IReV,” he said.
The INEC chairman added that logistical arrangements had been completed to facilitate the simultaneous opening of polls across the state’s 2,445 polling units by 8.30am.
“Our goal remains the simultaneous opening of polls in all 2,445 polling units at exactly 8.30am on election day,” he said.
“We have directed electoral officers to ensure that polling units are activated on time and that logistics are fully in place before election day.”
Amupitan further disclosed that the commission had coordinated closely with security agencies, including the police, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to ensure a peaceful and orderly election.
“We have worked closely with the police, DSS, Civil Defence and other security agencies. Our priority is to ensure that voters, election officials, journalists and observers are safe throughout the electoral process,” he said.
