As part of the final preparation procedures for the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will hold a mock accreditation exercise with the BVAS today Saturday 4th of February 2023. Assuring Nigerians of a free, fair and credible 2023 general election, INEC had employed the BVAS technology to facilitate a well secured election process.
BVAS – Bimodal Voter Accreditation System is an electronic device designed to read permanent voters cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters. INEC confirmed a month ago that it has received the last consignment of the BVAS and now has the required number of BVAS units for all the polling units in the country.
The Mock accreditation exercise is to further evaluate the functionality of the system and also to strengthen the commission’s process towards the general elections. The general public will also be reassured of the credibility and reliability of the system. INEC is confident and has assured Nigerians that this technology can not be beaten.
In a November 2022 interview, the commission ‘s deputy director of ICT, Lawrence Bayode had said, ” I can say categorically that we have taken care of every surface attack vulnerability of this system and we have also tried our best to ensure that the system can not be hacked into on the elections day and I can say again that BVAS can not be compromised. “
According to the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the exercise will be conducted in 436 polling units across the nation, and the machines used for this exercise will be reconfigured before the elections .
In Lagos state, the mock accreditation exercise will be conducted in six selected local government areas according to Tadese Adenike ,the HOD, Voters Education and Publicity. The exercise will be held at two polling units in each of the selected Local Government Areas. Political parties, NGOs, CSOs and the general public have been enjoined to actively participate in, observe and monitor the exercise in their closest selected area.
The exercise is scheduled to hold between 8:30 am and 2:30pm in select Local Government Areas; Ikeja, Ikorodu, Surulere, Agege, Somolu and Eti – Osa.