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…Says BVAS, IReV are legal, mandatory for 2023 polls
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…Assures no registered Nigerians will be denied PVC collection
By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
With less than 100 days to the 2023
general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has reassured that never again will scheduled elections be postponed or rescheduled on account of logistics and logistics challenges.
Similarly, the electoral umpire has re-emphasized that the use of the Bimodal Voters’ Accreditation System, BVAS, and INEC Result Viewing Centre, IReV, are legal requirements, and that the Commission is irrevocably committed to their use in the 2023 general election.
A National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Barr. Festus Okoye stated these at a meeting
with media practitioners yesterday in Abuja.
Okoye revealed that section 47(2) of the Electoral Act makes it mandatory that to vote, the Presiding Officer shall use a smart card reader or any other technological device that may be
prescribed by the Commission for the accreditation of voters to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.
He insisted that the use of the BVAS is mandatory and it is not an option of charity.
The Commission, he pointed out, is comfortable with the level of its preparations for the forthcoming elections.
Okoye, in his remarks, said, “We assure all Nigerians that the processes and procedures as well as the preparations for the conduct of the 2023 general election are on course.
“Out of the 14 items in our Timetable and Schedule of Activities, we have implemented 9 and we implemented all of them on schedule.
“The Chairman of the Commission has assured Nigerians that the BVAS and IREV have come to stay.
“The use of the BVAS and IREV are legal requirements, and the Commission is irrevocably committed to their use in the 2023 general election.
“Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act makes it mandatory that to vote the Presiding Officer shall use a smart card reader or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the Commission for the accreditation of voters to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.
“The use of the BVAS is mandatory and it is not an option of charity.
“The Commission will also transmit polling unit level results in real time. The transmission is also mandatory as provided in section 64(4) of the Electoral Act. We canvassed for the inclusion of the BVAS and the Electronic Transmission of Results in the Electoral Act.
“We have a responsibility to keep faith with our own innovations aimed at the conduct of transparent elections driven and propelled by technology”, he said.
The Prof Mahmood Yakubu -led INEC, Okoye said, is working with the various security agencies in election security as well as mapping levels of threats and risks and sharing their findings with the various security agencies.
“The Commission has received assurances from the various security agencies that Nigeria will be safe for election as measures have been put in place to ensure a free and hitch-free election”, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee said.
On the issue of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) collection, Okoye explained that the Commission has worked out, approved, and adopted the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for its (PVC) collection.
According to him, “The Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will in the next few weeks outline the fine details of the SOP.
“The Commission will ensure the seamless collection of Permanent Voters Cards by all eligible registrants. “We assure all Nigerians that the PVCs of those that registered between the 15th of January 2022 and July 31st, 2022, will be ready this month and the Chairman will give the exact date for collection.
“All those that registered within this period as well as all those that carried out transfer and those that applied for replacement will get their cards. “Nigerians will have sufficient time for PVC collection.
“No Nigerian that validly and genuinely registered will be denied the opportunity of collecting his or her Permanent Voters Card.
“We plead that Nigerians should not wait till the 11th hour before approaching our Local Government Offices and the Wards for PVC collection”, he said.
Okoye therefore assured Nigerians that the Commission is working hard to deliver free, fair, acceptable, and inclusive election in 2023.
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