The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed shock after the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, raised doubts about the credibility of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and Results Viewing Portal INEC would deploy for the 2023 election.
The commission is hinged on the efficiency of the technology which had been used in several polls, including the off-season governorship elections in Ekiti, Osun, and Anambra states.
In far away London, when he delivered lectures at the Chatham House, on Monday Tinubu, said the INEC has not convinced Nigerians of the workability of the BVAS and e-transmission of poll results.
Tinubu’s remarks concurred with that of the APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who weeks ago, with the National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu, said the planned use of BVAS for next year’s general polls may not be successful.
Tinubu specfically said, “We are still building confidence in our democratic and voting system. INEC is yet to assure us (that) during this election that electronic transmission, the technology being used for accreditation and the total vote count, is reliable, dependable and assuring in our democratic process before we introduce a complicated element of ballot counting.”
However, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, countered Tinubu and pointed out that the commission has been talking about the features, strengths and advantages of BVAS since 2020 when it was introduced to replace the Smart Card Reader.
Oyekanmi explained that the commission and party leaders discuss quarterly the BVAS since it was introduced, “and I am talking about more than five meetings, it has always been on the agenda and discussed.
“Both the national chairman and secretary of all the political parties that attend our meetings also brief their presidential candidates about the issues discussed.
‘’More importantly, we have conducted off-season governorship elections in Ekiti, Osun and Anambra states using the BVAS and all of these elections have generally been described and accepted as free, fair, credible, and inclusive by all and sundry. The governors elected have quietly been enjoying their respective tenures. Don’t forget that we also deployed it for the Federal Capital Territory area council election and it was a huge success.
‘’The BVAS has been trending on social media platforms and even foreigners visiting Nigeria for the first are asking: ‘What is this BVAS thing?’’
Oyekanmi said mischief-makers have been circulating rumours that the commission had dumped the BVAS, adding that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has however, assured severally that there is no going back on the deployment of BVAS for the 2023 general election.
‘’Therefore, if at this moment in 2022, we still have a presidential candidate of one of the 18 registered political parties, saying he needs assurances on the BVAS or he doesn’t know or appreciate its relevance to the 2023 general election, then something is terribly wrong somewhere,’’ he stated.
But the APC in a twist on the Adamu and Tinubu remarks on the BVAS, said their statements were probably misconstrued.
According to APC Publicity Director, Bala Ibrahim, Abdullahi Adamu and Tinubu were only telling INEC to be fully prepared for the election.
“I think we are misinterpreting or refusing to understand the broader meaning of concerns in this context,” Ibrahim said, adding that his principals were concerned that justice should not just be done but be seen to be done holistically.
“If there is an iota of doubt or anything that can compromise the integrity of the election, it must be looked into. The right thing has to be done,” Ibrahim noted.
While Ibrahim expressed confidence that his party has nothing to fear if the BVAS were deployed, saying the commission can successfully conduct the polls if the right things are done.
“No, we are not intimidated. In fact, our imminent victory is more pronounced with what is happening now. If you look at the ongoing rancour, chaos and divisive situation in the camp of the opposition PDP, you will discover that our chances are getting brighter every day,’’ he stated.
“For now, we don’t have any fear. Our only worry is misinformation or wrong information being peddled. We hope people won’t believe the antics of the opposition that is giving the public the impression that the party is not ready for the election.“
