Saturday 12 February 2022

FCT council polls: BVAS malfunctioning targeted at us – Senator Aduda


 Senator Philip Aduda, the lawmaker representing Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Saturday, raised the alarm that the malfunctioning of the new election technology deployed for the local council elections on Saturday, could be deliberate at disenfranchising some set of people.

The lawmaker spoke to newsmen Saturday, shortly after casting his ballot at his polling unit in Karu, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

Senator Aduda, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Minority Whip of the Senate, alluded to the fact that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) newly introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not functioning in many locations in Abuja on Saturday.

“From all indications and in all that I have heard from all over the FCT, there seems to be a serious problem with the BVAS machines, which we must look into. 

“I don’t know if this is deliberate, I don’t know what is happening, but these are issues that we must immediately look at.

“There are pockets of complaints in places like Garki, Kubwa in Bwari Area Council. There are also places like Kuje, Kwali, Abaji and other areas. So, it’s not like only one place. There are multiple complaints here and there.

“So, these are issues that I want to let Nigerians know and I hope these BVAS machines are not being used against us, I hope it will be used to better elections and electioneering process in Nigeria.

“Though they said they have used it for some off-season elections in Anambra State, now they are using it in FCT and I hope they succeed in using it as a case model. But there is a big problem that must immediately be resolved, so that some people are not disenfranchised.

“I hope that, and I hope that, I repeat, I hope that, this is not deliberate to disenfranchise some set of people,” Aduda fumed.

The election umpire had mid last year, introduced the BVAS machine, an all-in-one technology aa a multifunctional integrated device that serves multiple purposes for different activities in the value chain of elections.
The BVAS serves as the INEC Voter Enrolment Device for voter registration and voter accreditation exercise.

It also replaces the Smart Card Reader machine and serves as the INEC Results Viewing Device. It is designed to ensure full voter authentication on Election Day.




https://dailypost.ng/2022/02/12/fct-council-polls-bvas-malfunctioning-targeted-at-us-senator-aduda/

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