Dr. Mutiu Agboke, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun State, stated that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) effectively prevented over-voting during the recent governorship election. Speaking at the palace of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, during a visit on Tuesday, Agboke highlighted that the judgment from the Election Petition Tribunal, which annulled the results of the July 16 poll, revealed how over-voting could occur.
In a video clip of his address obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, Agboke noted that some politicians, in collusion with INEC staff, may have intentionally bypassed the BVAS during the election. He emphasized, “It was BVAS that helped INEC to expose those who carried out over-voting on election day. So it was not the BVAS that created the problem; that should be corrected.” He acknowledged the inadequacies identified among politicians, voters, and INEC staff, asserting that it is their responsibility to address these gaps to ensure that the votes of the Osun people are accurately represented.
During a stakeholders’ meeting with political party chairmen at the INEC state office in Osogbo on Wednesday, Agboke reiterated that if BVAS was not utilized, over-voting would inevitably occur. He clarified, “I want to tell Osun people that the issue of over-voting was not orchestrated by BVAS. We did not use BVAS to vote or cast our ballot. Our ballot was manual voting; over-voting was caused by fraudulent individuals who came to vote on election day. They are criminally minded.”
Agboke urged everyone to move past the blame directed at INEC and to remain vigilant during elections. He called for collective ownership of the electoral process, stating, “Let us stop all these blame games on INEC. Let us open our eyes very well on the election and watch out for our staff who may want to connive with politicians. We must all own the process together.”
Comments are closed for this story.