…Says voters registration hits 2,339,233m, 4,427 BVAS ready for polls 

Barely 18 days to the August 15 gubernatorial poll in Osun, the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, on Wednesday met major stakeholders in Osogbo, Osun State capital, amid tight security and tension.

 

There was heavy deployment deployment of gun welding anti riot policemen and personnel of the Nigerian Army, including operatives of the Department of State Service at Atlantis Event Centre, venue of the stakeholders’ engagement.

 

The event was attended by party leadership of political parties, security chiefs, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Commissioner of Police and Co-Chairs of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) and INEC directors, among others.

 

Speaking during the meeting, Amupitan declared that the umpire would leverage on technology and other modern devices to deliver a credible, transparent, fair and acceptable polls.

 

He disclosed that a total number of 2,339,233 million people had been registered to elect the next governor of the state while 4,427 Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) devices will be deployed for the exercise, including 664 dedicated backup devices.

 

“In line with our statutory mandate, the Commission has finalised and certified the comprehensive register of voters for this off-cycle election. For this election, the total registered voters are 2,339,233, spread across 30 Local Government Areas, 332 Registration Areas (Wards), and 3,763 polling units in the state. Fourteen political parties will participate in the contest.

 

“As at the close of PVC collection yesterday, a total of 322,822, representing 62% of the newly registered voters, had collected their PVCs, “Amupitan added, just as he said collection of the cards has also been extended to July 31, to accommodate more voters.

 

“The commission continues to strengthen its technological safeguards to protect the sanctity of the election. A total of 4,427 BVAS devices have been customised and deployed for Osun State. This includes 664 dedicated backup units—representing a 15% operational reserve—stationed at RAC levels with specialised RACTECH officers to resolve hardware glitches instantly, “Amupitan remarked.

 

While maintaining that biometric verification, which includes fingerprint or facial matching via BVAS remains the sole statutory mechanism for accreditation, he stressed that “there will be no manual accreditation. All polling unit result sheets (Form EC8A) will be scanned and uploaded directly from the polling unit to the IReV portal, guaranteeing public transparency from the moment voting closes.”

 

Amupitan, however, clarified that INEC will not compromise its transport logistics frameworks with the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), regardless of factional crisis between transport unions in the state.

 

“Agreements will be fully ratified ahead of the election. Sensitive materials will be moved under strict security escorts, ad-hoc staff training has been concluded, and field teams will activate all 3,763 polling units simultaneously at 8:30 a.m. on Election Day.

 

Meanwhile, there was a rowdy session after the INEC National Commissioner, South West, Kunle Ajayi addressed the gathering, as the Osun State Commissioner, Ibrahim Gotan, was allegedly booed by some supporters and members of the Accord.

 

Though incident almost disrupted the session the CP ignored them and presented his speech to the audience. However, later All Progressives Congress (APC) later mobilised their members to the venue, who were spotted booing the chairman, media and publicity committee of The Imole Campaign Council (TICC), Honourable Bamidele Salam, when he was addressing the meeting.