Mock accreditation of Voter at Kakau polling unit 029 LEA primary school Madaki, Chikun local government area of Kaduna state. Photo: Kayode Oyedare
As at 7.30am on Saturday, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission were seen at their places of posting for the mock accreditation.
The Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner, Rose Agwu was early enough at INEC office in Awka in readiness to go out to monitor the progress of the exercise.
Some of the polling units the Anambra REC visited. Photo: Ogochukwu Okoronkwo
Some voters have been accredited without any problems.
The BVAS was also working very well.
In Nasarawa State, turn-out of voters for the mock accreditation was impressive, not least in Karu Local Government Area.
Our correspondent reports that there was orderliness at various polling units as voters queued to test-run the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Similarly, at 8:12am, Vehicles conveying INEC officials, Configured BVAS and voters registered left INEC headquarters, Anguwan Rimi, Kaduna, to the designated polling units across the Three Senatorial Districts where the mock accreditation is taking place.
The exercise aims at testing the functionality of the BVAS in preparation for the general election.
Large turn-out of voters for the mock accreditation of Voters exercise with people checking their names in the display voter register.
There was a large number of voters waiting for INEC officials at Kakau Registration Area LEA polling unit, Madaki.
The exercise started at about 10:00am.
A BVAS machine was deployed, with another one kept as back-up In case of any challenge.
Security personnel were strategically placed to ensure a smooth conduct of the exercise.
Addressing voters before the exercise commenced, Assistant Electoral officer for Chikun local government, Agnes Adesue reminded them that the mock accreditation was not the real election but a pre-election process to test the functionality of BVAS to be used in the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections as well as the March 11 governorship and houses of assembly polls.
INEC’s readiness
INEC is fully ready for the upcoming general election scheduled to hold this month.
National Commissioner supervising Ondo, Osun and Ogun States, Professor Kunle Ajayi disclosed this while speaking with Radio Nigeria after inspecting the various selected polling units for the mock accreditation with the BVAS machines at Akure south local government area of Ondo State.
The two venues selected for the exercise were Sacred Heart Primary School, Akure, and St Stephen Primary School, Ijomu, both in Akure south local government area of Ondo State.
Professor Ajayi said going by the response of key stakeholders, such as security operatives and the Electoral officers, in addition to feedback from voters , the exercise did indeed reflect everyone’s readiness for a successful outing.
He stated that all INEC officials have been trained on proper handling of the sensitive and non-sensitive materials, thereby indicating their readiness psychologically and physically to carry out the exercise.
Reacting to reports of destruction of Election materials in some states by hoodlums, the INEC commissioner said the Commission has a back-up plan for a smooth election process.
Earlier, the Chairman, civil society in Ondo State, Franklin Oloniju, who commended the early arrival of electoral officers and the quick capturing with the BVAS machines, appealed to INEC to intensify its voter education exercise among the people.
Also speaking, one of the voters , Ola Martin said the mock accreditation exercise was successful as the BVAS machine responded faster than expected. He encouraged Nigerians to come out and exercise their franchise come February 25.
Personnel from the police Force, the DSS and other security agencies were on ground at the respective venues.
In Lagos, INEC, has today conducted mock accreditation of voters in some selected polling units in the three Senatorial Districts of Lagos State.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner for INEC, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje who monitored the exercise in some polling units in Surulere, Somolu and Ikeja Local Government Areas, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of the voters to test-run the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
Mr. Agbaje said the Commission was ready to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
Responding to the fears in some quarters that BVAS can be compromised by politicians, Mr. Agbaje said that INEC is committed to ensure that rigging loopholes are blocked.
Mr. Agbaje sent a note of warning to staffers of INEC who may want to work for politicians to compromise the process, that anyone caught in aiding and abetting politicians to rig elections would be sacked by the commission.
Some of the observers and party agents who were present at the polling units where the mock accreditation took place, applauded INEC for its dedication in ensuring that Nigerians have opportunity to vote for candidates of their choice.
Radio Nigeria reports that the observers and those who come out for accreditation attested to the fact that the BVAS worked effectively in accreditation voters.
Meanwhile, Eligible voters in Kwara State have applauded the mock accreditation exercise organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC today.
The exercise which held in twelve polling units across six local government areas of the three Senatorial Districts of Kwara State began at 9 o’ clock in the morning and ended at about 2 o’ clock in the afternoon.
Turnout of eligible voters in some of the polling units was impressive while some other polling units witnessed low turnout.
Some eligible voters who participated in the exercise expressed optimism that the BVAS will perform optimally in the coming elections.
In an interview with newsmen, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Garba Attahiru Madami who visited polling units across the three Senatorial Districts, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the BVAS.
Mallam Attahiru Madami urged eligible voters who have collected their PVCs to turnout enmasse on election days to vote for candidates of their
choice and be law abiding.
He assured them that the Electoral body will deliver free, fair and credible polls and warned political parties against over voting to avoid cancellation of results.
The mock accreditation was witnessed by security agencies, foreign election observers, political party agents and the media.
Reporting by Ogochukwu Okoronkwo, Chris Nyamtu, Kayode Oyedare, Isaac Afolabi,Taoreed Abdullahi and Rasheedat Iliyas ; Editing by Chinasa Ossai, Abdullahi Lamino and Tony Okerafor