INEC targets improved BVAS in Kogi, Bayelsa, Imo polls

• Prioritises permanent staff, corps members for Bayelsa
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed confidence that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will work better during next month’s governorship polls in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi states.

INEC also plans to recruit only the permanent staff that applied online to serve as Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs), for supervision of the poll in a cluster of polling units in Bayelsa.

The BVAS is used for both biometric authentication of voters and the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who stated this at a meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) said elections in the three states were critical to the commission.

According to him, the commission has accredited about 145 organisations with 7,896 observers for the three elections.

Yakubu noted that efficacy of the BVAS had been recently tested for both biometric authentication of voters and upload of results to the IReV.

He disclosed that the commission would soon make public its report on the conduct of the 2023 general election.

MEANWHILE, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Bayelsa State, Obo Effanga, has said the commission will recruit only the commission’s permanent staff that applied online to serve as Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs), for supervision of the poll in a cluster of polling units in the state.

Effanga, in a statement signed by his media aide, Obinna Ebogidi, yesterday, disclosed that the decision was reached as a result of lessons learnt from the February and March 2023 general elections.

“By using INEC permanent staff,” he said, “we are able to verify who they are and hold them to account because they realise that their jobs and career in the commission depend on their performances. That would help us prevent infiltration and accusations of recruiting partisan persons.”

Effanga further explained that the SPOs were drawn from INEC personnel in Bayelsa and those who applied from neighbouring states, adding that they had already undergone an intensive two days training and are now well equipped to conduct step down trainings for Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs), who will handle the BVAS at the 2,244 polling units in the state. The training of POs and APOs will run for three days.

He stressed that the commission in Bayelsa would also prioritise the recruitment of serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and those who recently passed from the service for easy tracking, monitoring, competence assurance and efficiency in handling BVAS and uploading polling unit results to the IReV Portal on Election Day.