BVAS: INEC To Conduct Mock Accreditation Exercise Ahead Of General Election

• The INEC chairman said the exercise is to test the integrity of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).

• He said the commission has solved glitches associated with BVAS.

• INEC is also expected to provide additional machines in case of malfunction or glitches.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has disclosed plans to carry out mock accreditation of voters before the general election.

Yakubu made the disclosure at the Chatham House in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

EDITOR’S PICKS

• PHOTOS: Akeredolu Makes Public Appearance Amid Concerns Over ‘Frail’ Health

• Lagos Inaugurates State Technical Working Group On AfCFTA

• “Pursue Your Passion Without Hesitation” – Eko Hot Blog CEO Makes Passionate Appeal At Staff Retreat

According to the INEC boss, the mock accreditation would be carried out in selected polling units to test the integrity of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).

“We had issues with the BVAS in Anambra and the federal capital territory (FCT) when we deployed it in November 2021 and February 2022. We went back to the drawing board and we have found the solution,” he said.

“That is why in subsequent elections and Osun, you didn’t see those glitches. But I’m not going to say more about what we discovered and what we have done.

“We have the machines for the general election, but we don’t want to take chances. Each and every BVAS has been tested and confirmed functional. For the last two weeks, our officials were in all the states of the federation testing those machines.

“We’ll conduct a mock accreditation exercise nationwide ahead of the election. We’ll test the integrity of these machines with real voters in select polling units. We did so in Ekiti and Osun; it was fantastic.”

Yakubu also disclosed that the commission has technicians to fix machines in case of malfunctions or glitches.

“We have technical support that will fix the machines in the unlikely event of any glitches,” he said.

FURTHER READING

• We Arrested 203 Suspects, Arraigned 117 In December – Lagos Police

• NAFDAC To Nigerians: Why You Should Avoid These Two ‘ Contaminated’ Cough Syrups

• Lagos Govt Presents Cash Gifts To Finalists Of Greater Lagos Talent Hunt

“However, where it fails to function completely in a polling unit — from previous experience there were isolated polling units — the law has a remedy that the commission should re-mobilise and re-conduct elections in the affected polling units within 24 hours. So, we are really, really comfortable where we are.”

Click here to watch our video of the week: