Former presidential aide and ex-lawmaker, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, on Saturday voiced his concern over the sluggish accreditation and voting process during the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election, attributing the holdups to malfunctions with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Ojudu casts his vote amid delays
Ojudu, who cast his ballot at his polling unit in Ereguru, Ward 8, Ado-Ekiti, noted that while voter turnout was impressive, technical glitches with the BVAS machine could discourage participation if not promptly addressed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking with journalists shortly after voting, the former senator commended the peaceful conduct of voters, particularly the elderly who turned out in large numbers. However, he lamented that the accreditation process was unnecessarily cumbersome, noting that it took nearly 30 minutes for election officials to successfully capture his fingerprints and photograph before he could vote.
“The turnout is impressive and the people have come out en masse to exercise their civic responsibility. They are peaceful and orderly, as expected. However, the process is cumbersome,” he said. “Before my fingerprints and photograph could be captured, it took almost 30 minutes. If it takes 30 minutes to accredit one voter, then one begins to wonder how many hours it will take for 500 people to vote.”
Ojudu disclosed that as of about 8:59 a.m., he remained the only voter who had successfully cast his ballot at the polling unit despite many others waiting. He attributed the delay to what he described as the malfunctioning of the BVAS machine and expressed fears that the situation could lead to voter apathy if not resolved promptly.
“There is clearly a problem with the system. The BVAS is malfunctioning. I don’t know what is happening in other polling units, but I am reporting directly from my polling unit. We have been here since around 8 a.m., and as of now, I am the only person who has voted. This is not good enough,” he stated.
