Lagosians Score INEC ‘Very Good’ But Mock Accreditation Records Low Turnout

The mock accreditation exercise of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Saturday, was characterized by low turnout of voters.

Our Lagos correspondent who monitored the exercise in Ikeja LGA of the state reports that while there were lots of observers from different political parties, the exercise recorded low turnout of voters in the LGA.

At Polling Unit 017, Ward 10 located at the Junction of Irewole/Joseph Str, Wasimi/Opebi/Allen, out of a total of 985 registered voters in the polling unit, only 18 voters turned out for the mock accreditation exercise as at 10:55. All of them were accredited.

Also, the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) was very effective and efficient. There was no incident of BVAS machine malfunctioning at the polling units visited.

Those that came with Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) meant for other polling units were not accredited. They were told that the BVAS only has data of registered voters at Polling Unit 017.

Explaining how the accreditation works, Election Supervisor and Assistant Director at INEC, Gabriel Taire, said that the record of all registered voters in the polling unit has already been uploaded to the BVAS, noting that only voters whose thumbprint and picture synchronize with what is on the machine are allowed to vote.

“What this does is that by the time you thumbprint and they take your picture, it’s going to synchronize with the picture that is already there. If it doesn’t tally with you, there’s no way you can vote,” he said

A representative of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the polling unit, Joseph Ogundipe, described the process as seamless.

“So far, I score this process very good. I’m impressed by it. And I believe that on election day, bearing all the issues of pressure, I think we would have it better this time around,” Ogundipe said.

Also, a representative of the Labour Party at the polling unit, Christian Usouwa, told THE WHISTLER that he was happy with the accreditation process, describing it as smooth.

Usouwa said: “The machine is working very well. According to the officials that I asked questions, the number of voters you accredit must also be the number of ballot papers that will be in the ballot box. Not when you accredit 10 voters, you now have 100 ballot papers. It won’t work that way.”

He expressed confidence in the accreditation process, adding that nothing so far about it is questionable.

At Polling Unit 010, Ward 1 located at the front of No.5, Abeokuta Str, Anifowose/Ikeja, out of 543 registered voters, only 26 came for the mock accreditation exercise as at 12.10 p.m.

However, there were close to 300 people at the polling unit as at the time our correspondent visited.

THE WHISTLER learned they were representatives of various political parties who came to observe the accreditation exercise.

A registered voter who spoke to THE WHISTLER on the condition of anonymity said that it took her about two minutes to get accredited.

“It took about two minutes for me to get accredited. I love what I have seen today, and I hope it will be replicated at the main elections,” she said.

She believes that with BVAS, the 2023 general elections will be free and fair, and will reflect the will of the people at the polls.

A PDP observer at the polling unit, James Thomas, while commending the effectiveness and efficiency of BVAS, noted that it is important to begin to look at the firewall of the machine, and how foolproof it is to hacking.

“If this process is well adhered to, it would be almost impossible to have issues of over voting like we previously used to have. Like biometric for example, you can’t duplicate biometric. The only thing that can be manipulated now is buying of votes and hacking. We should be looking at the firewall of this system. How secure is it? Can it be hacked? That way, we are good to go. On physical parameters, I think BVAS is better than what we have had previously,” James told THE WHISTLER.

However, the ward chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who did not give his name, declined to comment on the exercise when approached by our correspondent.

The mock accreditation exercise of voters was conducted by INEC to test the functionality of BVAS ahead of the 2023 general election in the state.

It was held in six selected LGAs of the state. The selected LGAs were Ikorodu, Somolu, Eti-Osa, Surulere, Agege and Ikeja – representing two LGAs from each of the three senatorial districts in the state.

The exercise held in two polling units in the selected LGAs between the hours of 8.30 a.m., and 2.30 p.m.

THE WHISTLER reported that mild confusion trailed the mock accreditation in Abuja over INEC’s relocation of some voters to other polling units in a bid to avoid congestion during the forthcoming general election.