Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the effectiveness of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) remains heavily dependent on Nigeria’s telecommunications network.
Speaking at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room’s Stakeholders’ Forum on elections in Abuja on Wednesday, Amupitan said technology has become central to Nigeria’s electoral credibility.
He noted that the country must address persistent network gaps that hinder real-time transmission of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“The BVAS has fundamentally redefined the electoral process, but a tool like the BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on,” Amupitan said.
“With over 176,000 polling units, many in remote areas, achieving real-time upload of all results remains one of our toughest operational battles.”
He said INEC is deepening engagement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and network providers, while exploring alternative technologies and building system redundancy to reduce connectivity-related disruptions.
Amupitan said consistent and transparent use of technology, including BVAS and IReV, has boosted public confidence in Nigeria’s elections by limiting manual manipulation and opening the process to real-time scrutiny.
However, he cautioned that technology alone cannot secure democracy or increase voter participation.
Referencing the 2023 general election’s 27 percent turnout, he said voter apathy continues to undermine electoral legitimacy.
He noted that INEC’s successful mobilisation in the recent Anambra governorship election where PVC collection rose to 98.8 percent shows what is possible when civil society, community leaders and the media work together.
Amupitan also announced that preparations are underway for the February 21, 2026, area council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) conducted directly by INEC.
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