Ahead of the February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, the Independent National Electoral Commission on Saturday conducted a mock accreditation exercise, with its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, describing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as a perfected “game changer” for credible elections.
The exercise was aimed at testing INEC’s operational readiness and the efficiency of the upgraded BVAS devices before the main polls.
Speaking to journalists during the field assessment, Prof. Amupitan said the commission wanted to resolve technical issues early.
“We don’t want to use the main election as a guinea pig. This is basically to test operational preparedness… and our major target and focus here is the functionality of the BVAS, which for us is a game changer,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with the speed of the machines, noting that accreditation now takes “five seconds or less per voter.”
During a simulation, the system successfully blocked a repeat accreditation attempt, proving its ability to prevent double voting.
“With this technology, there is no way you can be accredited twice. There’s no way you can vote twice,” he affirmed.
The INEC Chairman also reviewed human resource readiness at the Government Secondary School in Area 10, where Supervising Presiding Officers (SPOs) are undergoing intensive training.
He confirmed that non-sensitive election materials have already been deployed across the FCT.
“We have worked on all the necessary operational protocols and security measures,” he said, adding that presiding officers now have personal hotspots to bypass internet connectivity issues.
Prof. Amupitan explained that the system is designed to automatically upload results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal once a signal is detected.
While the technical outcomes were positive, he expressed concern over low turnout during the mock exercise and urged 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 go and campaign to people. It is the responsibility of the political parties,” he said.
He encouraged residents to take the upcoming polls seriously: “You can vote today and shape your tomorrow. If you want to predict your tomorrow, you should create it now.”
On the ongoing legislative debate over the removal of e-transmission from the Electoral Act Amendment bill, the INEC Chairman called for calm.
“There is no need for unnecessary tension. The legislative process requires harmonisation between both houses before a final position is reached,” he said.
Prof. Amupitan led a high-powered INEC delegation, including National Commissioners and the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner, to several polling units, including NIPOST Area 10 Garki, Government Secondary School Wuse Zone 3, LEA Primary School Ushafa, and Sagwari Primary School in Dutse.
