By Kehinde Olatunji
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has faulted the non-usage of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to transmit results as earlier assured by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Speaking in Lagos, yesterday, George said the BVAS was meant for the seamless transmission of election results electronically into the commission’s server.
According to him, the country is being taken to a period of misery, when election results were manipulated between the polling units and the collation centres.
He called on the international community, who sent observers for the poll, to rise and condemn the action.
The Atona Oodua of Yorubaland urged INEC not to succumb to any pressure to alter the results from the polling units, as history would judge the INEC Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu, who swore to ensure credible electoral process.
George charged the INEC boss to raise his voice for Nigerians to hear or relinquish his position, in the event of being pressured to alter results of the election.
The PDP chieftain said: “It is the most despicable act. After the certification of the accuracy of BVAS for the transmission of results, which was attested to by the mock process by INEC before the election, coupled with the successful deployment of the system for the Ekiti, Anambra and Osun governorship elections, how on earth can INEC turn around at this critical period, to discredit the system? I hope they are not trying to foist the dismal APC government on Nigerians, who have expressed determination to do away with this retrogressive party through the poll last Saturday.”
Quoting the APC, which claimed to have secured 50,000 votes in Ikorodu, he said: “How can we accept this? I make bold to say, this is a big embarrassment to Nigerians and the international community, whose hopes were raised that the giant of Africa and the most populated black nation has finally got it right and found a permanent solution to her intractable electoral quagmire of several years.”
“Alas, we are being drawn back to our disgraceful past, which, to me, is also dealing a severe blow to the effort of developed countries like the United States of America, who made huge financial and material commitment to our electoral process, expected us to chart a new course and place Nigeria in her rightful place among the comity of nations.”
Source: The Guardian
