Feb 25 polls: IReV glitches didn’t affect BVAS’ functionality — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the technical hitches experienced with its Results Viewing Portal (IReV) in the February 25, presidential and National Assembly elections did not impact negatively on the functionality of its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

There were mixed reactions on the failure of INEC to transmit real-time the polling units results from the BVAS to the iReV days after the February 25 elections, with some suggesting internal sabotage or external cyber-attacks.

But Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, spokesman to INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday in Abuja, said the two technologies were separate entities and exclusively independent of each other.

He argued that the only point of convergence between both technologies had to do with the BVAS transmitting polling units’ election results to the IReV at the conclusion of polls.

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The commission also said the transfer of its former Director of ICT, Mr Chidi Nwafor, and his promotion had nothing to do with the glitches experienced with the uploading of the election results.

Oyekanmi explained that, “The BVAS cannot be described as an invention of one staff member of INEC. Rather, it is the commission’s idea and invention, just as the now rested Smart Card Reader (SCR).

“Having decided to invent the BVAS, the commission gave the assignment to the most relevant department within the commission, the ICT, to bring the idea into fruition.

“The ICT department is populated by a sizable number of brilliant engineers and IT experts who worked very hard as a team for several months to successfully actualise the commission’s dream.

“After completing the assignment of designing the BVAS, the ICT department notified the commission. Therefore, it is improper to insinuate that a former Director of ICT or any other staff for that matter single-handedly designed the BVAS.”

INEC also said its Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, was not responsible for the reshuffling of ad hoc staff for the March 18, governorship and state assembly elections.

Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, spokesman to INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification yesterday in Abuja.

There were media reports that some Resident Electoral Commissioners were reviewing or reshuffling the posting of ad hoc staff for the coming elections on ethnic or religious biases.

But Oyekanmi said that the reason for postponing the elections earlier scheduled to hold on 11th March, 2023, was in the public domain and well captured in the press statement that the commission issued on Wednesday.