Kogi Poll: INEC denies reconfiguring BVAS to favour candidate

• allegations untrue, INEC said in a statement

Ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Kogi, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reconfiguring the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) to favour a political party’s candidate in the state.

BVAS is the machine used to accredit voters using their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and fingerprints or face recognition technology.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) had through its the Director of New Media for the Kogi State Governorship Campaign Council, Isaiah Ijele, accused some members of staff of INEC of plotting to manipulate the BVAS machines to be used for the governorship elections.

He claimed the Kogi State Government lodged three members of staff of the commission at the government house since Wednesday and are involved in the reconfiguration of some personalised BVAS machines to be merged with INEC’s deployment in specific regions such as Okene, Adavi, and Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.

But in a statement, the spokesperson to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the allegations were untrue. He called on political parties to “desist from engaging in malicious rumour-mongering of this nature.”

Oyekanmi, however, said that the configuration of BVAS was done simultaneously and exclusively in INEC offices in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi by teams deployed from the national headquarters, Abuja.

“The public is advised to disregard the story as fake news. At the same time, the commission appeals to political parties to desist from engaging in malicious rumour-mongering of this nature,” Oyekanmi said.

The full statement of INEC:

FAKE NEWS ALERT

The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a statement signed by ID Ijele, Director of New Media of the SDP Governorship campaign team in Kogi State. The statement alleged that three staff of INEC are right now maliciously reconfiguring the BVAS machines in the Government House, Lokoja, with the intention of manipulating the forthcoming Governorship election in a part of the State in favour of a candidate.

The story is untrue. The three persons mentioned are not associated with the configuration of the BVAS machines and not even in Kogi State at the moment. Mr. Nicholas Ocholi is on his duty post in our Ondo State office in Akure. Ibrahim Egbunu is attending to a very close family member hospitalised in Abuja. Mohammed Adara retired last year and is no longer a staff of the Commission.

The configuration of BVAS is done simultaneously and exclusively in our offices in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States professionally and strictly handled by teams deployed from the national HQ, Abuja.

The public is advised to disregard the story as fake news. At the same time, the Commission appeals to political parties to desist from engaging in malicious rumour-mongering of this nature.

Signed:

Rotimi Oyekanmi

Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman, Independent National electoral commission.