No less than 22 Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machines are reportedly missing in Rivers State, ahead as governorship and State Assembly polls hold today, Saturday, March 18, 2023.
Over 6,865 of the machines deployed to the state have been successfully reconfigured for today’s polls. Three of the accreditation machines were said to have been damaged beyond repairs.
However, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Johnson Alalibo, told newsmen and representatives of election observers for the polls that the development would not affect the process.
Alalibo said the commission has enough backup systems.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission will ensure that the missing gadgets will not be used by criminals. He promised that election results would be uploaded in real-time after the voting process, assuring of a free and fair process.
Meanwhile, the state representative of YIAGA Africa, Obinna Ebogidi, has urged INEC to keep its promise to upload results from the polling units.
He said: “The REC told us that 22 of the BVAS machines are missing while 6,865 BVAS machines have been reconfigured ahead of Saturday’s poll.
“Our concern is that results should be uploaded from the polling units early to avoid a repeat of what transferred in the last election.”
