INEC CONDUCTS MOCK ACCREDITATION AHEAD OF FCT AREA COUNCIL POLLS, HAILS BVAS AS ‘GAME CHANGER’
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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 selected polling units, declaring the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) fully optimised to safeguard electoral integrity.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, who led a high-powered delegation comprising National Commissioners and the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), toured several polling units, including NIPOST Area 10 Garki, Government Secondary School Wuse Zone 3, LEA Primary School Ushafa, and Sagwari Primary School, Dutse.
The exercise was aimed at testing the commission’s operational readiness and the technical efficiency of the upgraded BVAS devices ahead of the elections.
Speaking to journalists during the exercise, Prof. Amupitan said the mock accreditation was designed to identify and resolve potential challenges before Election Day.
“We don’t want to use the main election as a guinea pig. This is basically to test operational preparedness, and our major focus here is the functionality of the BVAS, which for us is a game changer,” he said.
The INEC chairman expressed satisfaction with the performance of the device, noting that voter accreditation took five seconds or less per person. He added that the system successfully blocked a simulated attempt at double accreditation during the exercise.
“With this technology, there is no way you can be accredited twice. There’s no way you can vote twice,” Amupitan said.
Beyond the technology, the INEC boss also assessed human resource preparedness, particularly at the Government Secondary School, Area 10, where Supervising Presiding Officers (SPOs) are undergoing intensive training. He confirmed that non-sensitive materials had already been deployed to all Area Councils in the FCT.
Addressing concerns about possible network challenges in rural areas, Amupitan said the commission had strengthened its operational protocols to ensure seamless result transmission.
“We have worked on all the necessary operational protocols and security measures,” he said, explaining that presiding officers are now equipped with provisions for personal hotspots to address connectivity issues. He added that results would be automatically uploaded to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal once a signal is detected.
While commending the technical success of the mock exercise, the chairman expressed concern over the low turnout observed, urging political parties to intensify voter mobilisation.
“It is part of the responsibility of INEC to do civic education, but it is not the responsibility of INEC to campaign. That duty lies with the political parties,” he said.
He also encouraged residents of the FCT to participate actively in the forthcoming polls.
“You can vote today and shape your tomorrow. If you want to predict your tomorrow, you should create it now,” Amupitan said.
Commenting on the ongoing debate in the Senate over the proposed removal of e-transmission of results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the INEC chairman urged calm, noting that the legislative process requires harmonisation between the Senate and the House of Representatives before a final decision is reached.
He cautioned against creating “unnecessary tension” over the issue, assuring that INEC remains committed to conducting credible and transparent elections.
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