Osun Guber Election: INEC Conducts Mock Accreditation, Confirms BVAS Readiness For Governorship Poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday conducted a mock accreditation exercise across selected polling units in Osun State to test the functionality of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

The exercise was monitored by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, who visited several polling units to assess the performance of the accreditation devices.

He expressed satisfaction with the outcome, saying the machines functioned effectively after an initial technical issue was resolved.

Speaking with journalists during the assessment, Amupitan said the mock accreditation was designed to ensure that all BVAS devices would operate seamlessly on election day.

“So far, I have been to four polling units. My assessment is that we are happy the machines are working ahead of the election. From what I have seen, I am satisfied that the BVAS devices are functioning properly. The initial problem had to do with old voter cards, but once the complaints were reported, we were able to resolve it.

“As you have seen here, the old cards are now working, and the new cards are also working. That is the essence of this mock accreditation, so that we do not encounter such problems on election day. The ICT Director has confirmed that the problem has been resolved permanently,” he said.

The INEC chairman visited the Post Office Polling Unit and St. Peter’s Primary School Polling Unit, both in Ward 1, Obokun Town, Obokun Local Government Area, where he monitored the exercise and interacted with election officials.

He also inspected the Okinni/Olorunsogo/Ofatedo Okubanjo Printing Press Polling Unit in Egbedore Local Government Area and the Ataoja Ward D, Ogo-Oluwa Kitan Polling Unit in Osogbo Local Government Area as part of the statewide assessment.