Festus Okoye, the national commissioner for information at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that no amount of protest can stop the usage of BVAS in the 2023 election.
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Okoye made the statement t a workshop election reporting organised by the cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNFJ) on Thursday.
“I has said it and I want to repeat it, even if you protest from now till tomorrow against the BVAS the commission must deploy it,” Okoye said.
“I was in Lagos with the chairman last week and we went to the international wing of the airport, where the Nigerian Airforce were loading the BVAS meant for the states in the federation.
“As of today, we have already delivered to location BVAS for the conduct of elections for 30 States.
“Before the end of December, the BVAS for the conduct of elections for all states of Nigeria will be where we want them to be,” he added.
BVAS, Bimodal Voter Automated System is a device introduced by INEC for the accreditation of voters through biometrics capturing, uploading of polling results and other functions.
The device, whose use is stipulated in th Electoral Act 2022, has been described by stakeholders as a game-changer in the country’s electoral process.
Some politicians and political parties however, have continuously criticised the effectiveness of the device.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur