By Ogochukwu Isioma
Ahead of next Saturday’s Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would once again be deployed for voter accreditation and result management.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with the electoral commission’s resident electoral commissioners (RECs).
“The deployment of BVAS has gone a long way to sanitise voter accreditation as can be seen from the result of recent elections. Since last week, the commission has intensified the review of the technology to ensure that glitches experienced, particularly with the upload of results, are rectified,” Yakubu said.
“We are confident that going forward, the system will run optimally,” the INEC chairman reassured.
On the conduct and outcome of the February 25 general elections, Yakubu applauded the sacrifice and doggedness of Nigerians and the dignity and maturity displayed by political leaders, even in the context of divergent views about the polls.
He said a lot of lessons had been learnt, and that of immediate concern to the commission is how the identified challenges can be addressed as the country approaches the concluding phase of the general elections involving the largest number of constituencies, being 28 state governorship election and 993 state houses of assembly seats.
The INEC boss said the commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, and that it did not take this for granted.
Yakubu also announced the ban on all categories of its staff found to be negligent during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections from participating in the March 11 governorship and state assembly elections.
“As we approach the governorship and state assembly elections, we must work harder to overcome the challenges experienced in the last elections. Nothing else will be acceptable to Nigerians.
“All staff found to be negligent, whether they are regular or ad hoc officials, including collation and returning officers, must not be involved in the forthcoming elections.
“RECs must also immediately initiate disciplinary action where prima facie evidence of wrongdoing has been established,” Yakubu said.
