The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN) has reassured voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the commission will transmit all the election results real time from polling units.
He affirmed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BiVAS) has been used by the commission to transmit election result real time since the technology came onboard, adding that the commission is ready for the FCT elections scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
The INEC boss gave the assurances on Tuesday in Abuja during an interview with journalists after an assessment of the level of preparedness of three Area Councils namely: Kuje, Gwagwalada and Bwari.
While expressing confidence in the level of preparedness of the Electoral Officers (EO) he assured that he has no fears that the commission will deliver an election that is acceptable and credible.
“The report they gave us, I’ve verified that they are correct. In Kuje, they said they are 99.9% ready for this election. In Gwagwalada, they said they are 90.8% ready for this election. And in Bwari, they said they are 100% ready for this election. So it means that there should be no excuse for any form of malfeasance. The election, it is hoped, will go very well.
“And I’m sure we’ll begin to redeem the image of our election through what we do, not necessarily what we say. So I’m quite satisfied. All the materials have been batched, the non-sensitive materials. And I’ve gone inside the stores to confirm that everything is in place”
Prof.Amupitan said that the commission has been transmitting election results real-time since the BiVAS was introduced.
“BiVAS is capable of accrediting and also of uploading and transmitting the results. So definitely the results will be transmitted”.
He reiterated that an election is judged successful if election materials are deployed on time with adequate security on ground, to protect both voters and staff adding that INEC will not compromise its standards.
Educating the EOs on the process that will guarantee credible election, reduce voter apathy and restore the confidence of Nigerian on the system he said,
“We want to address the issue of voter sympathy. We want to do everything possible to meet the aspirations of Nigerians. They have the right to make demands, and we will do everything possible within the law, to ensure that we are able to perform our responsibilities, because that is one of the ways we can begin to redeem the confidence that is a little beat deficient.
“Security agencies should be there on Friday at the RAC. All the poll officials must be there at the RAC on that Friday, so that it becomes easy for you to deploy and move early on Saturday morning, 6.00, later 7.00, set out, so that you can get to your polling, materials can get there on time and voting should start at 8.30.
“If you start on time and the election is peaceful, and then you manage the result very well, ensure that by the time you start on time, you can close your voting at 2.30. You start counting before darkness comes, you are finished. You declare the results. You entered the results. And you have also uploaded the results.
“We must upload our results through IREV and with the modification we have done, the result must be keyed in. It’s very important.
“So, when you move to the next stage, please, the coalition officers, they must check, cross-check, even though the device we are trying to bring in now will check on its own. You must cross-check to be sure that whatever you are uploading, at least will give us credit.
“And so it means that even after we leave office, let people audit us and say that these people, even while in the office, let them not appreciate what we have done or if they can, let them appreciate. No matter what, some people will not appreciate it.
“But let it be that after you have left office, even if it’s for academic purposes, they have data to work with, to assess you. And I pray that God will help us” he said
On their separate reports, the EO Kuje, Adamu Yakubu reported that his office is 99.9 percent ready, just as his counterpart in Gwagwalada Bola Abdullahi reported that his office is 90.8 percent ready while the EO of Bwari Gloria Adeboye reported a 100 percent readiness.
The Chairman was accompanied on the tour by high ranking INEC officials and commissioners including FCT Resident Electoral (REC) Aminu Idris, FCT Commissioner Operations Mallam Tukur Yusuf, Acting Director, Electoral Institute Prof. Sani Ibrahim and other officials.
