Not too long ago, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over their conducts in the elections that were recently conducted in the Federal Republic of Nigeria....CONTINUE READING
Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike who spoke at an event where he was inaugurating some projects in Rivers State on the occasion of his 58th birthday, boasted that his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will take over the much-awaited 2023 presidential seat from the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), if the Independent National Electoral Commission continues with its current system of conducting free and fair elections.
Although, the main opposition party in the country, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), usually criticize the conducts of election in Nigeria by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but Prof. Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may have been eulogized by Governor Nyesom Wike for one strategic reason.
Introduction of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System
Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) could be described as a technological system that will combine fingerprint and face biometrics for identity verification of voters.
The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was primarily introduced into the Nigerian electioneering process by the electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the authentication of voters. Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) authenticate the identity of every electorate who present a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) at the polling unit, ensuring that the PVC is genuine and that the electorate who present the PVC is the real owner of the card.
Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) prevents impersonation of voters and deply
alternative mode of authenticating a voter using the thumbprint and facial recognition, which may put a stop at the use of incidental form in the course of authenticating a voter. All these maximize the integrity of the electioneering process and the result of an election.
This technology must have been seen, by Governor Nyesom Wike, as a technical way of preventing electoral malpractices related to impersonation of voters.