The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has said that although the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System has transformed Nigeria’s elections, poor telecommunications connectivity remains the biggest challenge to achieving real-time transmission of polling-unit results.
Amupitan stated this at the 2025 Digital Nigeria International Conference and Exhibitions in Abuja, organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency. He was represented by National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Dayo Oketola, the INEC chairman acknowledged that weak and uneven network coverage across the country continues to hinder seamless uploads to the INEC Result Viewing portal. He explained that while voter impersonation and multiple voting have been effectively curbed through BVAS, real-time transmission from many locations remains difficult.
He said many of the country’s 176,846 polling units are located in areas with extremely poor network access, including swamps, mountainous communities and remote settlements. This, he noted, has made real-time upload of results one of the most difficult tasks the Commission faces on election day.
Amupitan stressed that “a tool like BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on,” while assuring the audience that INEC is in continuous discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission and telecom operators to find lasting solutions. He also revealed that the Commission is exploring alternative technologies that could help bridge connectivity gaps in difficult terrains.
Despite these challenges, the INEC chairman maintained that BVAS has permanently changed Nigeria’s electoral process. Addressing an audience of technology experts, policymakers and civil society groups, he declared that identity theft in elections has been eliminated. He described BVAS as a “foolproof mechanism” for voter verification, adding that only eligible voters can now be accredited at polling units.
Citing the recent Anambra governorship election, Amupitan said the 6,879 BVAS devices deployed recorded over 99 per cent result upload to the INEC Result Viewing portal on election day. According to him, these outcomes show that BVAS and the IReV portal have become entrenched features of the electoral system, no longer experimental tools.
He said the figures announced at polling units now match what is visible to the public, adding that technology has strengthened transparency throughout the process.
Amupitan also reflected on the Commission’s earlier experiences with digital tools, noting that previous accreditation devices suffered from a lack of legal backing. This left the Commission exposed during election disputes. He explained that this problem was addressed by the Electoral Act 2022, which introduced clear legal provisions for the use of technological devices in elections.
He highlighted Section 47(2) as a major turning point, describing it as a law that elevated digital tools from ordinary administrative instruments to “statutorily protected pillars” of the electoral process. He said the law has boosted public confidence in INEC and provided a strong foundation for continuous innovation.
Sending a direct message to political actors, Amupitan made it clear that INEC will not return to manual procedures, which he said are vulnerable to human interference and manipulation. He emphasised that the Commission plans to retain and improve the BVAS and IReV systems because the gains recorded so far are “too significant to reverse.”
As the conference concluded, the INEC chairman reaffirmed that the era of ghost voting is over. He said the Commission is committed to ensuring accurate verification of voters, proper counting of votes and transparent sharing of results. He described technology as a major factor in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy and restoring trust in elections.
Nigeria’s transition toward technology-driven elections followed years of public outcry over ballot stuffing, voter impersonation and opaque collation processes. Before the passage of the Electoral Act 2022, devices such as the Smart Card Reader and earlier biometric tools lacked explicit legal protection, leading to inconsistent acceptance during tribunal cases.
This gap led to strong advocacy for reforms that would empower INEC to adopt digital systems with legal authority. The approval of the Electoral Act 2022 marked that turning point. Section 47(2) specifically mandates the use of a technological device, such as BVAS, as the primary method of voter accreditation. The law also strengthened the role of the IReV portal by giving statutory support to the electronic publication of polling-unit results.
Since then, BVAS and IReV have become central components of Nigeria’s elections, used across successive off-cycle governorship polls. Observers have recorded improvements in biometric verification and public access to results, although challenges like poor network coverage and occasional device malfunctions remain.
INEC, however, insists that despite these issues, BVAS and IReV are essential tools that have helped secure the integrity of Nigeria’s elections and will continue to be improved ahead of future polls.
