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BVAS On Trial As INEC Conducts Mock Accreditation Nationwide
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has said the mock accreditation of voters expected to take place across 436 polling units nationwide was principally aimed at test running the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
The trial mock will set the ground for hitch-free conduct of the February 25 and March 11 elections, according to Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, INEC Information and Voter Education Committee.
He said polling units in urban, the semi-urban and some rural areas were selected to make the exercise inclusive.
This, he said, was because INEC will also want to test the efficacy of some of the networks in those areas for the upload of results from these polling units.
Okoye, who spoke in Abuja on Friday noted that technology will play an important role in the 2023 election.
He added that the polling units for the mock accreditation therefore were carefully selected to test the efficacy of the BVAS.
“INEC is fully ready to conduct the mock accreditation in all the PUs where this exercise will take place.
“All our Resident Electoral Commissioners are aware of the exercise and in conjunction with the Electoral Officers they harvested these Pus where this exercise will take place.
“We selected some Pus in the urban areas, someone the semi-urban areas and some in rural areas because we also want to test the efficacy of some of the networks we are using for results upload in these pulling units.
“We are fully ready for the exercise and the people in the affected PUs have been sensitise that there will be mock accreditation in their PUs,” he said.
He said that the exercise would be purely for accreditation without voting, from 8.30 a. m to 2.30pm.
“Immediately after the exercise we are going to sponge the data on our BVAS and reconfigure them for the purpose of 2023 general election,” Okoye said.
He added that all national commissioners would be deployed to monitor the exercise, saying that while some would move from one state to another, others would remind in the various states they supervised.
“Nigerians should cooperate with our officers that are going to carry out this mock accreditation and also get ready to exercise their democratic franchise on the days of these elections.
“One of the things that we have decided to do is to ensure that we test run the device by conducting a mock accreditation exercise.
“We have announced that this exercise is going to happen on Saturday, Feb. 4, meaning it is going to happen this weekend. So once again, I seize the opportunity of this visit to appeal to Nigerians to please go to the designated polling units,” he said.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said that in the unlikely event of challenges, INEC had time between the conclusion of the exercise and the general election to respond to the challenges.
“But we are very happy with the functionality of the machines so far, particularly the tests carried out on the number of machines received in preparation for the general election,” he said.
Sources: NAN
The Anambra Government has imposed a one-month sanction on Blossom Fount School, Awka, for allegedly selling the position of head prefect during a student election.
This was disclosed in a statement on Saturday by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh.
According to the commissioner, the school reportedly demanded N5,000 from each pupil aspiring to become head prefect in the primary section.
Chuma-Udeh condemned the act, describing it as an attempt to “sell the psyche of the children to the highest bidder from the cradle.”
According to her, such practices are unacceptable under the administration of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo.
She said that an investigation was ongoing to examine the school’s broader management practices, with the possibility of further actions based on the findings.
Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the arrest and continued detention of former House of Representatives member, Muhammad Kazaure, describing it as a violation of due process.
In a statement shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, Atiku said Kazaure’s detention reflects a brazen disregard for the rule of law, accusing the anti-graft agency of operating beyond the limits of the Nigerian Constitution.
Atiku alleged that the EFCC is increasingly becoming a tool for political repression, citing what he called a troubling pattern of lawlessness under the current administration.
He said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has once again plunged headlong into its well-worn pattern of lawlessness, arresting and detaining citizens with brazen disregard for due process and without offering any justification for its actions.”
Atiku also referenced the recent arrest of social commentator Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, whose release followed intense public pressure. He suggested that Kazaure’s case fits into a broader trend of state institutions being used to silence dissenting voices.
“We witnessed this same abuse in the unlawful arrest and detention of Mr. Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, whose release was only secured after massive public outrage and pressure.
“Now, the EFCC has targeted Hon. Muhammad Kazaure, a former member of the House of Representatives and an unapologetic critic of the gross misgovernance and failings of the Tinubu administration.
“Abducted in Kano and whisked away to Abuja, Kazaure is presently being held incommunicado, with no formal charge or explanation offered to his family, legal team, or the Nigerian people.
“Let it be stated without equivocation: even if there were legitimate grounds for arresting any citizen, such action must adhere strictly to the rule of law. The EFCC is duty-bound to publicly disclose the reasons for any arrest and must not detain individuals indefinitely under the guise of investigation.
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is unequivocal on this matter—every detainee must be promptly charged to court or released. By once again trampling on the fundamental rights of a Nigerian citizen, the EFCC is entrenching itself deeper into the mire of impunity and constitutional delinquency.
“It’s deafening silence regarding the arrest of Hon. Kazaure, a man who represented the good people of Kazaure, Roni, Gwiwa, and Yankwashi federal constituency, lays bare the agency’s contempt for transparency and justice.
Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has ignited social media buzz after posting a 15-second TikTok video set to the trending song Omo Ologo — a track closely linked with President Bola Tinubu.
The video, shared on her TikTok page on May 8, shows the embattled lawmaker smiling and playfully interacting with the camera. Captioned, “Just for fun, song choked,” the post has drawn mixed reactions online, with some interpreting it as a light-hearted moment, while others suspect a deeper political undertone.
The video comes just days after the song Omo Ologo was performed live by Kano-based singer Dauda Kahutu Rarara during a dinner in Katsina State held in honour of President Tinubu, who was on a two-day working visit to assess security in the region.
The song, which blends Hausa and Yoruba, praises Tinubu as a victorious leader who has outlasted his critics.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s TikTok post follows a series of dramatic exchanges between her and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The senator was suspended from the upper legislative chamber in March after accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment — an allegation that triggered heated debate in the National Assembly.
In what appeared to be a bold response to her suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan recently posted a sarcastic apology video to Akpabio on Facebook, in which she claimed she was sorry “for the crime of maintaining dignity and self-respect.”
The post was accompanied by a short video, further fueling controversy.
Akpabio’s legal team has since approached a federal high court in Abuja, seeking an order compelling the senator to delete the post from her social media pages.
In a counter-affidavit filed by her lawyer, Jubril Okutepa (SAN), Akpoti-Uduaghan’s camp described the motion as an attempt to silence and intimidate her.
The court is expected to rule on the matter on May 12.