By Sandra Michaels
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has successfully resolved a technical hitch involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) failing to recognise old Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) during a mock accreditation exercise in Osun State.
The glitch was uncovered during the INEC Chairman’s on-the-spot readiness assessment tour of polling units across Obokun, Osogbo, and Egbedore Local Government Areas, ahead of the upcoming August 15 governorship election.
During the visit to the Post Office Polling Unit (Ward, Ibokun) in Obokun LGA—which has 951 registered voters—a 71-year-old voter, Apostle James Oyewole, ran into a roadblock when the BVAS machine failed to capture his old voter’s card.
However, contrast was quickly established when another voter brandishing a new PVC arrived at the unit at 11:08 a.m. and was successfully accredited and verified within two minutes.
Reacting swiftly to the anomaly, the INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, who arrived at the polling unit at about 11:05 a.m., directed the Commission’s Director of ICT, Engineer Bayode Lawrence, to immediately rectify the technical flaw.
Professor Amupitan also charged the Director of Voter Registry, Tunde Gafar, to document all observed operational gaps and ensure total remediation before the commencement of the August 15 governorship poll.
At the second stop in Obokun LGA—St. Peter’s Primary School, Ibokun, boasting 327 registered voters—the presiding Polling Officer reported a smoother process, noting that the voter-capturing duration took less than a minute.
A similar technical challenge regarding old PVC identification was equally recorded and addressed at Okuban, under the Okoni/Olorunsogo/Opatedo Ward 10 in Egbedore Local Government Area.
Accompanying the INEC Chairman on the assessment tour were the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Oluwatoyin Babalola, alongside other top-tier management officials of the electoral body.
