FixPolitics, led by ex-Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili, on Friday knocked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
The organisation accused INEC of breaching the trust of Nigerians by failing to upload the February 25, 2023 general elections results to its portal in real time.
A statement by the Executive Director, Tony Ubani cited the various assurances by the commission that they were ready for the polls with deployment of the BVAS.
Ubani recalled the November 2022 press conference where INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu assured the commission would upload polling results immediately after voting.
“The controversies over the results mean that the electoral reforms and lessons declared to have been learned were not applied and. They were less prepared,” he declared.
Yakubu had stated that since the commission introduced BVAS, it would not turn around and undermine itself, saying “We will upload results from the polling units.”
FixPolitics noted the promised built confidence among millions of citizens who took out time to register and collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.
Ubani said the public even accepted the added burden of the closure of tertiary institutions as part of the sacrifice in reciprocity.
The activist also highlighted the fact that many returned from overseas to exercise their citizenship in the hope that the process would be transparent, free and fair.
“The failure of INEC and widespread delayed opening of polling units meant that voters were frustrated. Many voters and INEC staff were not able to locate their polling units for several hours,” he said.
The statement added that the “breach of trust” has made the populace to resent INEC and question the integrity of the ballot and its implication on the entire process.
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
