***Says use of BVAS, iREV sacrosanct
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has assured that 50% of the election materials needed to conduct the 2023 general election have been deployed across the country.
This is even as he has reiterated his earlier position that the use of technology in the conduct of next year’s general election by the Commission is sacrosanct, adding that the vicious attacks on INEC offices across the country will not deter it from conducting a free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in 2023, using technology as allowed by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC legal framework.
The INEC Chairman stated this in his opening remarks at a meeting with AU Special Pre-Electoral Political Mission to the Commission led by Her Excellency Phumzile Mlambo- Ngcuka, a member of the Panel of the Wise and former Deputy President of South Africa on Monday, November 28, 2022 at INEC Conference Hall, Maitama, Abuja.
According to Yakubu INEC is more than prepared to conduct the 2023 elections, pointing out that about 50% of election materials needed to conduct the general election next year have already been deployed across the country by the Commission.
Said he: “conducting elections in Nigeria is not an easy task.
Each time Nigerians goe to the polls it’s like four African countries put together are going to the polls. This is because of our large population and the larger number of political parties and candidates participating in the elections”.
Explaining further he said INEC is on top of the situation as it has already gone far in training ad hoc staff, saying that INEC deploys four officials in each Polling Unit (PU) on election days.
The INEC boss also told the AU Special Pre-Electoral Political Mission that: “We maintain very good relationship with critical stakeholders like the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), a body of registered political parties in Nigeria”.
“On the 2023 general election, we are using technology like Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), we have used it to conduct the elections in 105 constituencies and some off-circle Governorship Elections and BVAS worked optimally especially in Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections”.
“In fact, from August 2020 to July 2022 we have used BVAS and iREV and it worked perfectly well. I must say that the use of the technological devices have come to stay and there is no going back on their use in the 2023 general election”, he said.
On the attacks on INEC offices across the country, Yakubu said: “it’s true that security is an issue especially as in the last three months our offices in Osun and Ogun states and over the weekend in the South East part of the country was attacked but it will not deter the Commission from going ahead with the elections using technology like BVAS for the purpose of accreditation as allowed by the Electoral Act 2022 and the uploading of the election results real-time using iREV”.
Yakubu however expressed INEC’s appreciation for a long standing corporation between AU and INEC, saying that the Commission benefited from the observations of the International Observers under the Election Observation Mission in the past.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the AU Special Pre- Electoral Political Mission to the Commission said their visit to Abuja is to have a first hand knowledge of the preparedness of INEC for the 2023 general election.
“our mission here (INEC) is to hear from you how you are preparing for this exciting generel election. You want to share with us how prepared you are for the elections, if you are adequately supported and whether you have the means to deliver a free and fair elections in 2023. This is our mission here”, Mlambo-Ngcuka told INEC Chairman.
