By Ayobami Agboola, Osogbo
A civil society group, the Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens (CCNC), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately explain the alleged widespread failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during Saturday’s mock accreditation exercise conducted ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
The group alleged that the mock accreditation, designed to test the commission’s readiness for the election, experienced significant technical challenges after commencing in selected polling units across the state, raising concerns about INEC’s preparedness for the governorship poll.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Raufu Sodiq, popularly known as “Oluomo Success,” the coalition claimed that although the exercise was scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., it started behind schedule in some polling units. It further alleged that less than 40 minutes after the exercise commenced, many BVAS machines stopped recognising fingerprints, facial features and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), preventing the successful accreditation of voters in the affected locations.
Describing the development as disturbing, the group said a mock accreditation exercise should ordinarily boost public confidence in the electoral process, adding that the reported malfunction of the accreditation devices during the test exercise had instead raised questions about the commission’s level of preparedness.
The coalition argued that accreditation remains the foundation of every credible election because it determines voter eligibility and protects the integrity of the electoral process. According to the group, any failure at that stage could undermine public confidence in the outcome of the election if not urgently addressed.
CCNC also questioned why such challenges allegedly occurred despite what it described as years of preparation and substantial public investment in electoral technology. It called on the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner and the national leadership of INEC to provide a comprehensive explanation on the cause of the reported BVAS malfunction and disclose measures being taken to prevent a recurrence during the August 15 governorship election.
Among its demands, the coalition asked INEC to clarify whether the reported glitches resulted from software, hardware or configuration problems, explain its contingency plans for the 3,763 polling units across Osun State, replace any faulty BVAS machines and consider conducting another mock accreditation exercise before the election to restore public confidence.
“We believe in strong democratic institutions and do not want to see INEC fail. However, public confidence must be built on competence, transparency and accountability. The people of Osun deserve an election where every eligible voter can cast their vote without avoidable technological failures,” the statement read.
The group further urged the Chairman of INEC to personally address Nigerians before the governorship election by explaining the outcome of the mock accreditation exercise, outlining corrective measures and assuring voters that all identified technical challenges would be resolved before Election Day.
INEC had organised the mock accreditation exercise to assess the functionality of the BVAS and other electoral processes ahead of the governorship election scheduled for August 15 across the state’s 3,763 polling units.