•Joash Amupitan
The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has declared the readiness of the Commission for the Ekiti State governorship election.
He assured voters, political parties and other stakeholders that all necessary arrangements have been concluded to ensure a peaceful, transparent and credible exercise.
Amupitan gave the assurance yesterday in Ado-Ekiti during an interactive session with media executives, held eight days ahead of the governorship poll.
The INEC chairman, who had earlier led a high-powered delegation comprising National Commissioners, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), and other and senior officials of the Commission on an inspection of the ongoing mock accreditation exercise across selected polling units in the state, said the exercise confirmed the the agency’s preparedness for the election.
According to him, the mock accreditation was designed as a quality assurance mechanism to test the Commission’s technological infrastructure and operational capacity under real field conditions before the election day.
Amupitan disclosed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) performed efficiently during the exercise, with fingerprint and facial authentication taking an average of between five and seven seconds per voter.
He added that INEC had deployed additional backup BVAS devices and technical support personnel across all registration areas to ensure that any equipment malfunction is promptly addressed.
“We did not want to speak from an air-conditioned boardroom in Abuja or rely solely on paperwork. We went to the theatre of operations to see for ourselves how our systems are performing.
“The mock accreditation is essentially to test our facilities, especially our technology, and ensure that everything required for the election is functioning optimally.
“What we observed today confirms that our technological defence against identity theft and result manipulation is robust and fully operational. We have provided upgraded backup BVAS devices and deployed technical engineers across the state. Any malfunctioning device can be replaced within minutes,” he said.
“Our goal remains the simultaneous opening of polls in all 2,445 polling units at exactly 8:30 a.m. on election day. We have directed electoral officers to ensure that polling units are activated on time and that logistics are fully in place before election day.
“The greatest threat we face is not technical failure but misinformation and disinformation. Fake news, manufactured election-day panic and unauthorized declaration of results are direct assaults on public peace and democratic stability,” Amupitan added.
