INEC must address BVAS malfunction — Adeleke’s camp

The Imole Campaign Council has called on Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently address widespread complaints of malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices across Osun State. The council expressed deep concern over the technical challenges, which have reportedly hindered the accreditation process at numerous polling units.

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The Imole Campaign Council alerts the whole world that many of the local governments where BVAS malfunctions have been recorded are the strongholds of the Accord Party and Governor Ademola Adeleke.

In a statement, the council's spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, highlighted that many of the affected local government areas are known strongholds for the Accord Party and Governor Ademola Adeleke. The situation was particularly acute at the governor's own polling unit, Unit 009, Ward 02, Agbogunde Sagba in Ede North LGA, where BVAS machines were either malfunctioning or excessively slow. This led to voters waiting for hours under the sun, causing frustration.

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In fact, at the governor’s polling unit, Unit 009, Ward 02, Agbogunde Sagba, in Ede North LGA, BVAS machines have either malfunctioned or have been annoyingly slow, frustrating voters who stood in the queue for hours under the scorching sun.

Further corroborating these issues, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) Situation Room, an independent civil society organization, confirmed BVAS failures in several local government areas. These include Egbedore, Ife Central, Ilesa West, Ifedayo, Ifelodun, Oriade, and Ilesa East. The council specifically noted that some machines were unable to capture the facial biometrics of elderly voters, forcing them to abandon the queue after prolonged waits.

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The situation is deeply concerning as some BVAS machines could not capture the faces of most elderly voters at the polling units, forcing them to leave the queue after hours of standing.

The Imole Campaign Council stressed the critical need for INEC to rectify these technical problems before the conclusion of the voting process. They issued a stern warning that failure to resolve these anomalies would amount to the automatic disenfranchisement of eligible voters, which they deemed unacceptable and a direct affront to democratic principles.

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The Imole Campaign Council calls on the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately rectify these anomalies before voting ends. Anything apart from this is an automatic disenfranchisement, which is not acceptable and a slap on democracy.