Nigeria’s electoral umpire says it is ready to conduct a secure and technologically sound governorship election in Ekiti State this weekend.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, confirmed the commission’s readiness following a final assessment tour and mock accreditation exercise across several polling units on Friday.
Accompanied by national commissioners and top officials, Prof. Amupitan monitored the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in Ado Ekiti and the Emure/Ise/Orun local government areas ahead of the June 20 poll.
Speaking to journalists during the tour, the INEC chief described voting technology as the “game changer” for the election, adding that the mock trials successfully proved the efficiency and speed of the system.
“Within a few minutes, several voters had been accredited, and they were elated,” Prof. Amupitan said. “I’m happy that the BVAS worked very well… The internet is working well, and there has not been any challenge at all.”
He also noted that the system successfully flagged individuals trying to test the commission by attempting to vote at the wrong polling units.
Responding to concerns about potential delays at high-volume polling stations, the Chairman explained that units with large numbers of registered voters would be split and equipped with multiple BVAS machines to maintain processing speeds.
Tightened Safeguards
Addressing historical anxieties surrounding result collation, Prof. Amupitan revealed that new digital safeguards have been embedded into the configured BVAS devices.
Under the new protocols, presiding officers will find it impossible to upload inaccurate data. “By the time they finish, the result is counted and entered into the result sheet. So if it does not tally, it’s not going to go to our gallery,” he warned, noting that any transmission failures would immediately trigger questions from voters and party agents on the ground.
Massive Security Deployment
Logistical preparations are also entering their final stages. Non-sensitive electoral materials have already been batched at the local government level, with sensitive materials expected to arrive shortly.
Amid persistent concerns over regional safety, INEC stated it has collaborated closely with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to map out potential flashpoints.
Prof. Amupitan assured the public that security personnel are being drawn from various parts of Nigeria to secure the state.
“We are deploying massively to ensure that the voters are guaranteed their safety,” he said. “We can also guarantee the safety of our own officials and our infrastructure.”
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