The Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Citizens has formally requested that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) provide a clear explanation regarding the widespread issues reported with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). These technical failures surfaced during a Saturday mock accreditation event held in preparation for the Osun State gubernatorial election scheduled for August 15, 2026.
According to group spokesperson Comrade Raufu Sodiq, the process faced significant delays in starting at various locations. Furthermore, many devices stopped processing fingerprints, facial recognition, and PVC data less than an hour into the session. The organization highlighted that these malfunctions undermine trust in the electoral system, especially given the substantial investment in such technology.
The group is now calling for a full disclosure on whether these issues stemmed from hardware, software, or configuration errors. They have suggested that INEC should replace defective machines and possibly host an additional mock trial to reassure voters. INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan addressed the concerns by identifying the use of outdated voter cards as the primary cause of the glitches, stating that the situation has since been corrected and operations have resumed normally.
