Opinion

Before Osun REC Dr Agboke Causes Himself Public Opprobrium

Published

4 months ago

February 2, 2023

Hammed Tajudeen

Before Osun REC Dr Agboke Causes Himself Public Opprobrium

Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Mutiu Agboke

𝘉𝘺 𝘖𝘭𝘶𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺𝘪 𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘪

The Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Mutiu Agboke needs to be properly educated on how Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) works. I am not unaware that the Osun gubernatorial election was superintended by former Osun REC, Prof Abduganiy Raji, hence Dr Agboke lacks locus to make remark on the exercise.

As it stands, it is only Prof Raji, former Osun REC who can make cognitive remarks on this new device and its workings. BVAS is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters. I still find it difficult to know or understand when BVAS has become a device used to detect over-voting in the last Osun governorship election.

If the REC must talk, he should carefully study the situation of things before making unsubstantiated report about the exercise.

Yesterday, I heard Dr Agboke speaking on the usage of BVAS. Yes, it is a new technology that will help deepen our democracy and improve our electoral process, but that it was used to detect over-voting in the Osun election is far from the truth and capable of compromising the credibility of the commission he superintends in the State.

I urge the head of Osun eletion umpire to patiently read the two judgements from the tribunal, he would discover that none of the judges talked about the BVAS being used to detect over-voting.

Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters – using the voters’ fingerprints – in order to prove that they are eligible to vote at a particular polling unit.

According to the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, when the commission introduced BVAS last year, the compact device is to achieve two objectives. First is the verification of the genuineness of the PVCs and the fingerprint or facial authentication of voters during accreditation.

Secondly, to replace the Z-pad for uploading the polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real-time on election day.”

BVAS also acts as the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) during voter registration. Its usage has also eliminated the use of incident forms during accreditation on an election day. This was what the chairman of the commission said about BVAS. Dr Agboke should point it out where the device is to be used to detect over-voting.