By Chimdiogo Amuh 

Ahead of the February 21 Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday conducted a mock accreditation exercise across Abuja to test its preparedness for the polls.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, who led a high-level delegation of National Commissioners and the FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), described the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as a perfected “game changer” capable of strengthening electoral integrity.

The chairman toured several polling units, including NIPOST Area 10, Garki; Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3; LEA Primary School, Ushafa; and Sagwari Primary School, Dutse, to assess the performance of the upgraded BVAS devices.

According to Prof. Amupitan, the mock exercise was aimed at pressure-testing INEC’s operational readiness and resolving any technical issues ahead of the actual election.

“We don’t want to use the main election as a guinea pig. This exercise is to test our operational preparedness, with particular focus on the BVAS, which for us is a game changer,” he said.

He expressed satisfaction with the speed and efficiency of the devices, noting that voter accreditation was completed in five seconds or less. During the simulation, the BVAS successfully blocked a second accreditation attempt, demonstrating its effectiveness in preventing double voting.

“With this technology, there is no way a voter can be accredited twice or vote twice,” the INEC chairman affirmed.

Beyond technology, Prof. Amupitan also assessed the preparedness of election personnel, visiting Government Secondary School, Area 10, where Supervising Presiding Officers (SPOs) are undergoing intensive training. He confirmed that non-sensitive election materials have already been deployed to all Area Councils in the FCT.

Addressing concerns about possible network challenges in rural areas, the INEC boss said the commission has strengthened its operational protocols, including providing presiding officers with personal hotspots to overcome connectivity issues. He added that election results would be uploaded automatically to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal once network signal is detected.

While commending the technical success of the exercise, Prof. Amupitan expressed concern over the low turnout recorded during the mock accreditation, urging political parties to intensify voter mobilisation.

“INEC will continue civic education, but it is not our responsibility to campaign for people. That duty lies with the political parties,” he said.

He encouraged FCT residents to actively participate in the February 21 elections, stressing that their votes matter in shaping governance at the grassroots.

On the ongoing debate in the Senate over the proposed removal of electronic transmission of results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, the INEC chairman cautioned against creating unnecessary tension, noting that the legislative process requires harmonisation between both chambers of the National Assembly before a final decision is reached.