Ime Akpan
The presidential and national assembly elections taking place today in Nigeria have so far recorded some hiccups due to the malfunction of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) in some places, shortage of the machine and other election materials in others as well as late arrival of ad hoc personnel and staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In Rivers State, the governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, could not vote in his polling unit and ward 9, unit 7, Obio/Akpo local government area as the BVS failed to accredit him.
According to NAN, the machine failed to recognise the thump print or face of his wife, Suzzet as the presiding officer, Ms Agatha Abiokun battled in vain to make the BVAS work.
Reacting, Wike expressed disappointment and accused INEC of shoddy preparation.
“INEC ought to have put all its tools in order before now.
“We are highly disappointed. INEC told us they were ready for the election and that the BVAS machines were working.
“You can see the crowd here; I don’t think that most people will be able to vote with the slow working of the BVAS.
“I have stayed here for about 25 minutes. I was told to go and come back.
“We are highly disappointed. If a number of people are disenfranchised, what do you expect? People will lose their temper and anything could happen.
“INEC ought to have been completely ready before telling the people they are ready,” he said.
However, Wike’s co-traveller in the G-5 project, Dr Samuel Ortom of Benue State, voted without any hitch at his polling unit in Tse-Ortom, Mzondu ward, Guma local government area.
Ortom, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) voted for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi.
He flaunted his ballot paper after casting his vote.
Ortom who is contesting for Benue northwest senatorial zone said: “For me, it’s not even that I’m contesting an election. Yes, the form was bought for me by the people of Benue State. I’ve gone round; they have accepted that they will vote me.
“But if I’m to sacrifice my senatorial ambition for Peter Obi to win, so shall it be. I know that if [any group of] people are connected in this world, they are the Igbo. This is the opportunity you have to say that an Igbo man from the southeast is president.”
In Ogun State, the senator representing Lagos West, Mr. Olamilekan Adeola, complained about “misplacement and mismanagement” of BVAS machines by INEC.
He said the commission’s inability to appropriately distribute the BVAS machine had delayed voting in some areas and could prevent some polling units from conducting the election.
Adeola, who is contesting for the Ogun West senatorial district seat in Ogun State, spoke after casting his vote at ward 1, unit 9, Pahayi, Ilaro, Ogun State.
He expressed the fear that the election might be declared inconclusive due to the failure of the BVAS machines.
Olamilekan, popularly known as Yayi declared: I have voted; initially there were some hiccups with the issue of BVAS in terms of misplacement or mismanagement of the BVAS machine.
“I was reliably informed that, at my polling unit, it was BVAS that was meant for polling unit 04 but later when it was discovered, it has to be changed to BVAS 009 since then we have been captured.
“Also we have already voted and I hope that INEC will be on top of their game because we cannot afford to have issues with the BVAS machine.
“As the electoral act as clearly stated, there is no alternative in any polling unit where the BVAS machine is not working. That election has to be postponed and conducted the following day and when you look at the process, once a polling unit is left out that means the election is inconclusive until that election is held before you can have a complete election. So I hope the INEC with their staff will be on top of their game.
“I was reliably informed that the ad hoc staff engaged by INEC are not adequate; they are short of staff in some areas across the length and breadth of the senatorial district.”
At polling unit 108, Bakare Estate main gate, Agungi, Eti-Osa, Lekki residents provided 5G WI-Fi for officials of INEC when the BVAS network failed.
They also provided permanent markers for the officials
It was further learnt that voters in the area had to wait for over three hours before INEC officials arrived at many of the polling units.
At VOJEM Nursery and Primary School, Mushin Ward 52, voters who arrived at the polling unit as early as 8.00am were not accredited until around 10.30 because the BVAS network failed. While a technician was working the machine, a female INEC staff made arrangement to get a back up from the office. One of the voters volunteered his car for the trip. The network came on while she was about to get on the vehicle.
At polling unit 047, Kubwa Primary School, Abuja, INEC provide two packs of ink for the 750 accredited voters in the polling unit.
The ink was exhausted after 150 voters were registered.
The presiding officer, Mr. Kingsley Onuche, told Punch in an interview that they had to improvise after the ink was used up.
“We were given two packs of inks and it has finished. We had to pour biro ink into the ink pad to enable voters exercise their franchise,” he said.
In Kogi State, it was gathered that prospective voters at the Muslim Community Secondary School, Lokongoma ward A were stranded and unable to vote following claims by INEC officials that there was no ink.
Punch quoted INEC staff who craved anonymity as saying that they resorted to pouring water to wet the ink pads.
“We are trying to get pure water to wet the ink pads. We are yet to get a seller but we have called party agents to help us get pure water and if possible, new ink pads,” the official said.
At Shettimari polling unit 001 in Lawan Bukar ward in Maiduguri metropolis, the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Kashim Shettima could not vote due to the absence of INEC election.
According to NAN, Shettima arrived at the polling unit around 10 a.m. and met many other voters waiting for the arrival of election materials and officials.
Shettima, who was accompanied by the Governor of the state, Babagana Zulum, waited for about 10 minutes before leaving.
However, the house of representatives candidate of the Labour Party in Yewa South and Ipokia federal constituency in Ogun State, Mr. Tade Afolabi, commended the INEC for a peaceful election.
“Everything went fine apart from the fact that you do your accreditation and vote simultaneously unlike four years ago when you would first do your accreditation before voting.
“With the turn out now, you can’t really tell because people are still coming out and we are happy that accreditation is done with voting simultaneously,” he said.
Similarly, the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, said INEC met the expectations of Nigerians in the conduct of the election.
According to TheCable, Baba-Ahmed was speaking to journalists after casting his vote at polling unit 021 in Tudun Wada, Zaria local government area of Kaduna State, Baba-Ahmed.
“The conduct of elections so far at this polling unit of this ward in Zaria local government of Kaduna state is highly commendable.
“The electorate have been exercising their civic responsibilities responsibly and INEC has met expectations and we can feel the air of serenity, peace around. We can also feel cordiality among the electorate, everybody is at peace with everybody so far,” he said.
He called on Nigerians to consider competence, capacity, character, and compassion before casting their votes.
He said his party does not believe in vote-buying to win elections, noting that his appeal was not a campaign.
“Of course, this is not a campaign. Look far and wide, look deeply, elect who is the best leader for yourself, devoid of considerations of religion and ethnicity, vote competence, capacity, character, and compassion. And this is not a campaign.
“As for me and my principal, my party, our system, we have never believed in money politics and we will never do it. We believe in the electorates, the typical Nigerians themselves taking conscious decisions as to where their fate lies and where their destiny heads without any influence of cash or what so ever who with the cohesion of religious and tribal forces, this has always been our attitude.”
