Former presidential adviser Senator Babafemi Ojudu has raised concerns over slow accreditation and voting in Saturday’s Ekiti State governorship election, blaming the delays on widespread Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctions.
After casting his ballot at Ereguru, Ward 8 in Ado-Ekiti, Ojudu praised the “impressive” voter turnout.
However, he warned that technical glitches with the BVAS machines could discourage citizens from participating if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fails to fix them immediately.
Speaking to journalists, the former lawmaker commended voters—especially the elderly—for their peaceful conduct, but noted that the process remained unnecessarily slow.
Ojudu revealed that it took election officials nearly 30 minutes to successfully capture his fingerprints and facial data before he could finally vote.
“The turnout is impressive and the people have come out en masse to exercise their civic responsibility. They are peaceful and orderly, as expected. However, the process is cumbersome,” he told newsmen.
“Before my fingerprints and photograph could be captured, it took almost 30 minutes. If it takes 30 minutes to accredit one voter, then one begins to wonder how many hours it will take for 500 people to vote.”
Ojudu disclosed that as of about 8:59 a.m., he remained the only voter who had successfully cast his ballot at the polling unit despite many voters in the queue.
He attributed the delay to what he described as the malfunctioning of the BVAS machine and expressed fears that the situation could lead to voter apathy if not resolved promptly.
“There is clearly a problem with the system. The BVAS is malfunctioning. I don’t know what is happening in other polling units, but I am reporting directly from my polling unit.
“We have been here since around 8 a.m., and as of now, I am the only person who has voted. This is not good enough,” he said.
The former presidential aide called on INEC to immediately deploy technical support to affected polling units and ensure that voting proceeds without further delays.
Ojudu argued that where the machines
fail to function effectively, the electoral body should consider alternative measures to prevent disenfranchisement of voters.
“My appeal to INEC is to urgently ensure that things are working. If the machines are not functioning properly, they should find a way to address the problem immediately. We cannot allow voters to be stranded because of equipment failure,” he urged.
Drawing a comparison with modern banking technology, Ojudu questioned why election technology could still experience such challenges despite years of preparation.
“Banks deploy applications and platforms that millions of people use daily for transactions with minimal issues. This technology has been around for years, so one wonders why equipment deployed for such a crucial national assignment is still failing to perform optimally,” he added.
The former senator warned that if the pace of accreditation remained unchanged, many voters could abandon the process out of frustration.
“If it takes 30 minutes per voter, multiply that by 500 voters and people could still be here tomorrow waiting to vote. Many may become discouraged and leave without exercising their franchise. That would be unfortunate for our democracy,” he said.
Urging INEC to intervene swiftly to maintain public confidence, the former senator emphasized that eligible voters should not be denied their right to participate due to avoidable technical difficulties.
Nevertheless, Ojudu acknowledged that the polling environment remained peaceful and orderly, voicing optimism that the operational challenges would be corrected before significantly impacting statewide turnout.
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