Olusegun Olanrewaju (Lagos), Nathaniel Zacchaeus, and Linus Aleke (Abuja)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday alleged that some politicians are trying to gain access to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) hardware in an attempt to clone it.

The Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Festus Okoye, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, addressed concerns over the possibility of over-voting and compromise of BVAS.

Okoye’s comments came in the wake of the recent Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal judgment which nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke on the grounds of over-voting.

He said, “Some of these fears are not valid. People are just throwing issues into the fray to make sure that we disclose to them the complete and entire functionality of the BVAS.

“There are some politicians who want us to open the brain of the BVAS machine so they can see inside the BVAS [machine, to see how it functions and for them to also see whether there’s a possibility for them to clone it or manipulate it and the commission will not do that,” Okoye said.

“Democracy can only be protected by a vigilant people and the law has given the political parties the power and the right to deploy their polling agents to all the polling units in Nigeria and all the collation centres.”

The commissioner noted that stakeholders are granted access to monitor the entire electoral process to ensure that nobody puts any foreign material into the ballot boxes on Election Day that will cause over-voting.

“Our BVAS is a very robust gadget – a very robust instrument, and we have faith in it. We believe it is the ultimate arbiter in terms of those who want to manipulate the process.

“I think that Nigerians should have faith in the BVAS. It is robust and will be a game-changer in the 2023 general elections,” the INEC official said.

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*INEC raises fresh alarm, warns fuel scarcity endangers commission’s plans

In another development, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday expressed concerns about the continued scarcity of fuel across the country, saying the development could hamper Election Day logistics.

INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this in Abuja at a consultative meeting with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

Yakubu said the commission would, later yesterday, meet with the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to look into ways of ameliorating the situation.

“The commission shares your concern about the fuel situation in the country and its impact on transportation on election day. The truth is that our arrangements may be negatively affected by the non-availability of products.

“For this reason, the commission will this afternoon meet with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to look into ways to ameliorate the situation.

“I wish to assure Nigerians that we will continue to engage every national institution for the success of the 2023 General Election,” said Yakubu.

He said the meeting with the NURTW officials was to put finishing touches to the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between the Commission and the Union on 20th of December 2022.

It would also seek to conclude on the modalities for the certification of vehicles by the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in light of the emphasis the commission places on the safety of election personnel and materials.

According to him, the issue of logistics has been a perennial problem in election administration in Nigeria.

“That is why for three electoral cycles now, INEC has collaborated with the road transport unions to address the problem.

For the 2023 general election, the Commission has included the Marine Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUN, for efficient maritime transportation.

“The time has come to stop all excuses and provide effective logistics to ensure hitch-free logistics on Election Day.”

*EU observers call for violence-free exercise

Meanwhile, ahead of the forthcoming elections, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has assured European Union (EU) observers that Nigeria is upbeat about the polls, saying the exercise will be the best in Nigeria.

Lawan, according to a statement by his media aide, Ola Awoniyi, expressed optimism yesterday while playing host to a delegation of the European Union (EU) election observers and former Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, who paid separate courtesy visits to the Senate President.

Odinga was in Nigeria at the instance of the management of the Leadership newspapers for their Annual Conference and Awards which were held in Abuja yesterday.

The Senate President told his guests that the National Assembly had worked very hard to provide the necessary support to the electoral agency and enacted the needed legislation to guide the electoral environment for the polls.

Receiving the EU delegation led by Thomas Boserup, Deputy Chief Observer, the Senate President said: “The general elections this year will be probably the best. This is because we worked so hard in the National Assembly to produce a very good document to guide the electoral environment in Nigeria.

“The amendment to the Electoral Act was signed into law by Mr. President last year and the INEC has been given ample opportunity and a great deal of latitude to introduce technology in the elections.

“The introduction of BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) I think will go a long way in ensuring that election fraud and manipulations are reduced to the barest minimum.

We believe that has been one of the serious issues that bedevilled our elections previously.

“The thing that motivates us more is what we have been able to give to INEC. I think INEC is a princely institution. We have always prioritised INEC. We believe that INEC shouldn’t be in want. Where INEC makes a request, we believe we should always give INEC what our country can afford.

“Where we can give everything, we should do so. If we have to meet INEC halfway, we must have a strong reason to do so. This is because we don’t want any excuse from INEC.

“We want INEC to perform very well. We want the elections in 2023 to be very credible and very transparent and with the introduction of BVAS, we believe we can achieve that feat.

“Your (EU) statement in 2019 was very helpful. We believe that the stability of Nigeria is the stability of Africa and indeed, the stability of the world. And what you are doing is not only to stabilize our political or electoral process but to ensure that other countries copy us.”

Also, while receiving Kenya’s former prime minister and his delegation, Lawan re-echoed similar sentiments about the 2023 polls.

Lawan commended Odinga for his role in ensuring that Kenyan democracy is peaceful and stable.

He said, “Election periods are normally periods that are described as uncertain, especially in developing countries and Africa in particular.

“Many things are suspended. Everybody will tell you after the elections are over. Why? Because people fear that elections will bring violence and so much uncertainty.

“I think we need to continue to work to ensure that our elections are peaceful, credible, that the integrity test that we need to push our elections should give us every hope and give our people every hope that their votes count.

“I think with more certainty around our election periods, people will see election periods as those normal activities that you can just go and vote and continue with your other activities. But we have to work hard to ensure that people don’t see election periods as periods of violence.

“I want to commend you and congratulate you for working to ensure Kenyan democracy is peaceful and stable. I must commend you for the stance you took in the recent election outcome in Kenya. You are an African patriot and you are an African democrat and a leader.

“In 2022, the National Assembly passed the Electoral Act (amendment) which Mr President signed and we introduced so many innovations.

“We gave INEC so many powers and for it to introduce technology in the elections so that we reduce subjectivity, the possibility of rigging, and some unwholesome attitude of some politicians or their agents.

“And we believe that the 2023 elections will have the best and highest quality of election processes than the previous ones. We hope that the outcome will be a reflection of the will of Nigerians.”

Earlier, Odinga told the Senate President that Nigeria and Kenya maintained a long-standing relationship.

He expressed delight in knowing more about the uniqueness of the Nigerian National Assembly concerning the Kenyan parliament.