The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that it would deploy over 200,000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS in the 2023 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Festus Okoye, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Umuahia, Abia State capital.
Okoye, who is this INEC National Commissioner in charge of Abia, Anambra and Benue States, was in Abia to monitor the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
He said that the BVAS would be deployed in the 176,000 polling units across the country, adding that the surplus will be kept handy as a reserve.
His words: “We will have one BVAS reserve in every Registration Area Centre (RAC) to ensure immediate intervention in case of any failure,” he said.
Okoye further said that Technical Officers would be on standby at every RAC to attend to any technical issues that could arise in the course of the polls.
He said that INEC had the capacity to conduct credible general elections in 2023, adding that the commission is poised to replicate the achievements and successes recorded in the Ekiti and Osun governorship polls.
Meanwhile, Okoye has said that the July 31 deadline for the ongoing CVR remains sacrosanct.
He explained that the commission had an enormous task to accomplish ahead of the 2023:polls, and “cannot afford another extension.”
Okoye noted that the CVR had lasted for over a year and that INEC “will not glorify the last-minute rush attitude” of some Nigerians.
He advised registrants not to engage in double or multiple registrations as such amounts to criminal offenses that are punishable.
“At the end of the CVR, the commission will carry out a de-duplication to remove double and multiple registrations,” Okoye said.