#EkitiDecides2026: Ex-presidential aide Babafemi Ojudu casts vote, alleges BVAS glitch at polling unit

Babafemi Ojudu, a former presidential aide and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), experienced a significant delay while casting his vote in the Ekiti State governorship election due to a malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine. Ojudu, who voted at his polling unit in Ado-Ekiti Local Government Area, reported that the BVAS machine initially failed to capture his biometric details for nearly 30 minutes after accreditation began.

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INEC, this is unacceptable. I am the first voter in my polling unit. Nearly 30 minutes after accreditation began, your equipment has still failed to capture my details.

Expressing his frustration, Ojudu stated, "INEC, this is unacceptable. I am the first voter in my polling unit. Nearly 30 minutes after accreditation began, your equipment has still failed to capture my details." He voiced concerns that if the first voter faced such a lengthy process, it would create considerable delays for the hundreds of other voters waiting to exercise their democratic rights. He added, "If the machines are not working, let them do manual (accreditation)."

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If the very first voter requires 30 minutes, how many hours will it take to process hundreds of voters waiting patiently to exercise their democratic right?

Ojudu, a former senator and ally of Governor Biodun Oyebanji, emphasized that the process was cumbersome, despite the orderly conduct of the voters. He narrated that it took almost 30 minutes to capture his fingerprint and photograph. He later confirmed that he drew the attention of INEC officials to the problem, and corrective measures were taken promptly, leading to an improvement in the situation. The incident highlighted potential technical challenges within the electoral process on election day.

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The people are orderly, but the process is cumbersome. As I said, the people have come en masse to vote. They are peaceful, they are on queue, as expected, but the process is cumbersome.