As the 2023 general elections draws nearer, the Independent National Electoral (INEC) has revealed that it is set to conduct a mock accreditation.
This was disclosed by its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT.
According to him, the mock accreditation will hold on Saturday, February 4, 2023 in 436 polling units nationwide.
The exercise is aimed at testing the readiness of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS)
The Commission also noted that the distribution of sensitive materials for the elections to the various States was at an advanced stage while the distribution of non-sensitive materials has been concluded.
“Airlifting and delivery of sensitive materials to States of the Federation has gone far. Accreditation of national and international observers and the media is being finalized.
“Critical service providers in the area of transportation have reassured us of their commitment to efficient logistics for the movement of materials and personnel to various locations while the security agencies have reaffirmed their readiness for the election,” he said.
He said 12 polling units have been designated in each State of the Federation and four in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the equality of the country’s 109 Senatorial Districts for the mock exercise.
“A comprehensive list of the polling units, including their names and PU Code numbers, as well as their distribution by State, Senatorial District, Local Government, and Registration Area (Ward) will be uploaded to the Commission’s website shortly,” he said.
He expressed satisfaction with the desire of Nigerians to collect their voters card, adding that out of the 940,200 PVCs sent to Lagos State, about 839,720 have so far been collected as of Thursday.
He said the commission was determined to ensure that all Nigerians collect their PVCs ahead of the general elections, stressing that if necessary the commission may consider other options for the collection of PVCs.
He noted that the Commission has taken delivery of BVAS machines for the elections.
“We have also dutifully tested each machine in our offices nationwide to ensure its functionality. The next step is to conduct field tests across the country involving actual voters. For this reason, and in readiness for nationwide deployment, the Commission is conducting a mock accreditation of voters similar to what was done ahead of the recent Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections,” he said.
He also appealed to registered voters in the affected polling units to appear on the scheduled date with their PVCs for the mock exercise.
“Doing so will help to reassure the public of the robustness of our system and to strengthen our processes ahead of the General Election. Civil society organisations, the media and the general public are welcome to observe the process. At the end of the exercise, the 436 BVAS machines involved will be reconfigured before they are deployed for the General Election,” he said.
He said training of officials will commence shortly.
Yakubu also said ongoing consultations with stakeholders will be intensified.
“However, the Commission is aware that there are a few issues to be addressed. One of them is the ongoing collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).
“The Commission is encouraged by the determination of registered voters nationwide to collect their PVCs and the actual level of collection so far.
“For instance, in Lagos State, which has the highest number of registered voters in the country, the Commission delivered 940,200 PVCs from the recent voter registration exercise (June 2021 to July 2022) for both new registrants and requests for transfer and replacement of cards. As of yesterday Thursday 26th January 2023, 839,720 PVCs have been collected representing 89.3% of the total figure.
“This meeting with RECs will consider reports from other States of the Federation and the Commission will not hesitate to consider additional measures to ensure that all citizens have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the General Election. We wish to assure Nigerians that the Commission will always be responsive to the needs of the electorate,” he stated.
