Shuaibu AbdulRaheem, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) candidate for governor of Kwara, says the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) has not made any substantive adjustments in its delivery of services for elections.
Mr. AbdulRaheem made this point in an interview in Ilorin on Saturday during the elections for the Governors and State Assembly.
He said that the INEC assured that the electronic BVAS must have a SIM card that allows it to receive signals from service providers, but the opposite occurred.
“What we hear is that many of the BVAS do not have SIM cards and are now relying on the virtual method.
“That’s a lot of confusion in that area. What the INEC told us is not what we are receiving now.
“The electoral body says that the BVAS will be used and there will be instant data upload immediately after the vote, but there is no record of that.
“In the long run everything became mechanical, so it is contrary to the impression that people have been given, that the BVAS is a revolutionary instrument,” said the gubernatorial candidate.
Mr. AbdulRaheem, also a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, noted that people were complaining that the materials intended for his use were not appropriate.
“The likes of ballot papers, as people still have a hard time identifying the party logo.
“The logo was mutilated and the NNPP name had not been written where it should have been written,” he said.
The gubernatorial candidate said there were unpatriotic citizens who had been given national jobs with the INEC, adding that some of them are sometimes “agents of confusion.”
“There was a polling station where some INEC officials said they haven’t been paid, so they don’t go to work.
“It took a senior officer intervention to get them back to doing their job,” he said.
AbdulRaheem also noted that although there was low voter turnout, that did not stop people from exercising their civic duties.
“There is lower voter turnout compared to the presidential election and the conduct has not been better in terms of malpractice.
“As they say, the BVAS doesn’t have SIM cards or Wi-Fi services for it to activate, so how can anyone trust that kind of thing?” he questioned.
(YAYA)
