…Says failure of BIVAS responsible for hitches in Anambra Guber poll
*Hopes Buhari ll sign Bill soon
By Ignatius Okorocha
Disturbed by the failure of INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System,(BIVAS),Chairman Senate Committee on INEC Kabiru Gaya has said the machine will be subjected to further trial in Ekiti and Ondo gubernatorial elections next year.
Fielding questions from journalists Thursday in Abuja after defending his committee’s report before Senate Committee on Appropriation, Gaya said his committee “keenly watched the Anambra election and realised that the BIVAS has serious problems.
“When INEC presented it in the committee, the machines looked okay and we’re working well, but we are surprised the machine didn’t work at Anambra election.
The has therefore said “before we go into the general elections, let us try the machine in smaller election like Ekiti state coming up.
“Already they have summoned INEC and they have started working on finding a solution so that there won’t be problem with 2023 elections.”
Gaya said he didn’t suspect sabotage because it is an electronic equipment that can fail, adding that the is provision for spares. “If the machine fails they bring a replacement”.
He said it was a good thing that it happened only in Anambra election because if it had happened in a general election, that would have been a “serious catastrophe”.
“We are happy that we have seen the problem. Everything in life, there are challenges. This is one of the challenges INEC must face to get it through to get to 2023.
He commended President Buhari for providing N100 billion in the 2022 budget for INEC to prepare early for 2023.
Unlike past elections where funds are provided for INEC close to election day, Gaya noted that the N100 billion will enable INEC to order materials, including machines that have to be manufacured in good time.
On the Electoral Act amendment which was recently passed by the National Assembly, Gays said “the amendments were made based on the views and requests of Nigerians”.
He believed that the Act will help in bringing free, fair and credible election and hoped that President Buhari will assent to it because issue like “direct primary”, which the president believes will deepen democracy at the grassroots level is amply included.
