How BVAS Failed To Transmit Feb 25 Presidential Poll Results, INEC Staff Tells Tribunal

Two ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission acting as subpoenaed witnesses of the Peoples Democratic Party have admitted that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System failed to transmit the results of the presidential election after the collation.

According to Punch Online, the witnesses, Friday Egwuma and Grace Timothy told the Presidential Election Petition Court on Thursday that the BVAS machine allocated to them developed a system error immediately after the results of the Senate and House of Representatives aspects of the poll were freely transmitted.

In their subpoena evidence, the two workers of the electoral body explained that they had to resort to other means of getting the results when it became clear that the BVAS machines would not help them.

Egwuma was a Presiding Officer in a polling unit in Abia State while Grace Timothy served INEC in Plateau State.

Apart from the failure of the BVAS machines to transmit the presidential election results, the two witnesses admitted that voting went smoothly in their respective places of work.

They were led in evidence by Atiku’s lead counsel Chief Chris Uche SAN.

Under cross-examination by Abubakar Mahmud SAN, who stood for the electoral body, Egwuma explained that he resorted to an offline system in place of the BVAS machines.