By Desire Emmanuel
Despite allegation of vote buying at some polling units and low voters turnout in others, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, on Saturday afternoon said the Area Council elections at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were “orderly, efficient and peaceful.”
Amupitan made this known while speaking after monitoring the process at few polling units within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Amupitan disclosed that the performance of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the level of voter turnout were positive indicators for the country’s democratic process.
He highlighted the speed of the accreditation process, noting that the BVAS technology had significantly reduced waiting times for voters.
“You can see by yourself that the election is orderly and very efficient. The election is peaceful and those are the indices of a good election. So far, the efficiency of the BVAS is high and I am very satisfied because the BVAS are working effectively and efficiently.
“From what I have seen and heard from the presiding officers, it takes about less than five seconds to even accredit a voter. So far, I can say that the election is well organised. The election is peaceful from the calm atmosphere you have seen,” Amupitan said.
He commended what he described as large turnout of voters, attributing it to an increased awareness among citizens regarding the importance of participating in the electoral process.
He also praised the calm atmosphere and the conduct of both voters and security personnel.
“You can see a lot of people here and they are conducting themselves well. I learned that there are 30 security personnel that are present here. They are also conducting their affairs in an orderly manner. So, we hope that at the close of the poll, we will have a very successful election,” he said.
Addressing a question regarding an incident involving the harassment of a journalist by security personnel, Amupitan said that INEC remained committed to the safety of all accredited personnel.
“I am only aware that there was one journalist that was arrested and immediately we intervened. The Chief Press Secretary and some people spoke to the police and the person was immediately released unmolested.
“We have taken every measure to ensure that nobody is molested. Accredited journalists and observers are granted access to the places they are supposed to be. We have not withdrawn any accreditation,” he said.
The INEC boss, however, acknowledged minor hiccups in certain areas, especially the delay in arrival of election materials and ad hoc officials in few polling units, noting that INEC was on top of the situation.
He said that as at 10:30 a.m., 99 per cent of polling units across the FCT had successfully opened and that the commission was monitoring the situation in real-time from the situation room to ensure all eligible voters were attended to.
Amupitan pledged that the commission would not only ensure that the votes of Nigerians count in the FCT election, but would ensure further improvements, moving forward to the 2027 general elections.
“The voices of Nigerians will be held this time around. The BVAS, as far as I am concerned, is working very well,” he added.
