2023: Sensitive Election Materials Will Remain With CBN — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that sensitive election materials will remain with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ahead of the forthcoming poll.

The update was given by the National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Festus Okoye, on Tuesday.

Groups and individuals raised concerns in 2022 about the sanctity of election materials kept with CBN after Godwin Emefiele announced his intention to run for president.

Following the reactions that ensued, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu disclosed on June 4, 2022, that election materials would no longer be routed through the apex bank.

While explaining the delivery of the election materials, Okoye added that the commission is ready for the upcoming election.

According to him, the election materials have been deposited with CBN.

“The commission is ready for the February 25 and March 11, 2023, general elections.

“The commission has taken delivery of the full complement of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for the 176,846 polling units in Nigeria.

“The BVAS will be deployed to all the polling units except the 240 polling units that have zero voters.

“The commission has taken delivery of the redundancies for the 8, 809 Registration Areas and the 774 local government areas of the country.

“The commission has tested the BVAS and carried out mock accreditation and they are fit for purpose in terms of hardware and software upgrades.

“The process of configuration of the BVAS has commenced and the commission is satisfied with the progress made so far.

“The BVAS is a sensitive election material and they are in safe locations under heavy security.

“The BVAS is the ultimate arbiter and game-changer, and Nigerians expect it to perform optimally.

“The BVAS is the albatross of election riggers and identity thieves and those with false identities should keep away from the polling units.

“The commission has printed and delivered the bulk of the sensitive materials meant for the conduct of national elections, in terms of result sheets and ballot papers.

“These materials have been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria, awaiting movement to the various local government offices of the commission.

“The commission has almost concluded the delivery of the non-sensitive materials and they are presently being batched in accordance with the Registration Areas.

“The training of various categories of ad hoc staff has commenced and the commission is satisfied with the progress made so far”, he said.