INEC Chairmen Meets RECs, Silent On Failure To Upload Polling Unit Results With BVAS Machines

Prof Mahmood Yakubu was on Saturday mum on the ‘glitches’ that prevented the smooth operation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS machines that INEC had prior to the elections vowed would eliminate rigging in the nation’s election process.

Speaking during his interaction with senior commission officials to review the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, the INEC chairman nevertheless claimed that the deployment of BVAS went a long way to sanitize voter accreditation.

He was, however, mum on the failure of INEC staff to upload polling unit results and as such avoid the collation centers where politicians allege results are usually mutilated.

“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. We are confident that going forward the system will run optimally”, he said.

Recall that politicians from across the spectrum have lamented that the BVAS machines failed to upload polling unit results for the presidential elections last Saturday and there are reports that almost a week after the poll that the results are still being uploaded.

Yakubu and his commissioner for publicity and voter education, Festus Okoye have repeatedly been quoted on tape as having pledged that the polling unit results would be uploaded. Yakubu, the INEC chairman was, however, mum on the failure to use the BVAS machines to upload the polling unit results at the meeting on Saturday, a development the commission claimed as caused by glitches but which some political parties described as deliberate to allow rigging.