INEC confirms readiness after Ekiti BVAS mock exercise

Professor Joash Amupitan, the Chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has declared the commission fully prepared for the upcoming Ekiti State governorship election. This assurance comes after a successful mock accreditation exercise conducted in selected local government areas, which tested the efficacy of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

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The mock accreditation is essentially to test our facilities, especially our technology, and ensure that everything required for the election is functioning optimally.

During the mock exercise in Ado and Ikere Ekiti, the BVAS machines demonstrated efficient performance. Professor Amupitan, who monitored the exercise firsthand, reported that fingerprint and facial authentication processes took an average of five to seven seconds per voter. He emphasized the importance of on-the-ground assessment, stating, "We did not want to speak from an air-conditioned boardroom in Abuja or rely solely on paperwork. We went to the theatre of operations to see for ourselves how our systems are performing."

The positive outcome of the mock accreditation has bolstered INEC's confidence in its technological defenses against identity theft and result manipulation. Amupitan asserted that the observed performance "confirms that our technological defence against identity theft and result manipulation is robust and fully operational."

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The BVAS machines performed efficiently during the exercise, with fingerprint and facial authentication taking an average of between five and seven seconds per voter.

To mitigate any potential issues, INEC has proactively deployed upgraded backup BVAS devices and technical support teams across Ekiti State. This ensures that any malfunctioning device can be replaced within minutes, minimizing disruptions on election day. The commission also addressed concerns about result transmission, assuring that results would not be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) without full verification. Measures are in place to handle areas with poor network coverage, preventing delays from being used to discredit the process.

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We did not want to speak from an air-conditioned boardroom in Abuja or rely solely on paperwork. We went to the theatre of operations to see for ourselves how our systems are performing.

INEC is committed to ensuring a transparent and credible election. Logistics arrangements are finalized for polls to commence simultaneously at 8:30 a.m. in all 2,445 polling units across the state. The commission aims for the timely activation of polling units and the smooth conduct of the election.

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What we observed during the mock accreditation exercise confirms that our technological defence against identity theft and result manipulation is robust and fully operational.