FCT polls: INEC chief declares BVAS “game changer” after successful mock acccreditation

By Omeiza Ajayi, ABUJA

Ahead of the February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday conducted a mock accreditation exercise across the territory, with its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, describing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as a perfected “game changer” for electoral integrity.

Leading a high-powered delegation that included National Commissioners and the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Amupitan toured several polling units, including NIPOST in Area 10 Garki, Government Secondary School Wuse Zone 3, LEA Primary School Ushafa, and Sagwari Primary School in Dutse.

The exercise was designed to pressure-test the commission’s operational readiness and the technical efficiency of the upgraded BVAS devices.

Speaking to journalists during the field assessment, Prof. Amupitan emphasised that the commission was determined to iron out technical wrinkles well before the actual polls.

“We don’t want to use the main election as a guinea pig. This is basically to test operational preparedness… and our major target and focus here is the functionality of the BVAS, which for us is a game changer.”

The Chairman expressed satisfaction with the machine’s speed, noting that accreditation was taking five seconds or less per voter.

During a simulation at one of the units, the system successfully blocked a repeat accreditation attempt, proving its effectiveness against double voting.

“With this technology, there is no way you can be accredited twice. There’s no way you can vote twice,” he affirmed.

Beyond technical hardware, the INEC chief assessed human resource preparedness at the Government Secondary School in Area 10, where Supervising Presiding Officers SPOs are undergoing intensive training.

He confirmed that non-sensitive materials have already been deployed to the various Area Councils.

Addressing concerns regarding potential network glitches in rural communities, Prof. Amupitan revealed that the commission has enhanced its operational protocols.

“We have worked on all the necessary operational protocols and security measures,” he said, adding that presiding officers now have provisions for personal hotspots to bypass internet connectivity issues.

He clarified that the system is designed to automatically upload results to the INEC Results Viewing IReV portal once it detects a signal.

While the technical results were positive, the chairman raised concerns over low turnout during the mock exercise, urging political parties to step up their mobilisation efforts.

“It is part of the responsibility of INEC to do civic education. But it is not the responsibility of INEC to go and campaign to people. It is the responsibility of the political parties,” Amupitan noted.

He encouraged FCT residents to take the February 21 polls seriously: “You can vote today and shape your tomorrow. If you want to predict your tomorrow, you should create it now.”

Regarding the ongoing legislative debate in the Senate over the removal of e-transmission from the Electoral Act Amendment bill, the INEC Chairman cautioned against “unnecessary tension”, explaining that the legislative process requires harmonisation between both houses of the National Assembly before a final position is reached.

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