Concerns over the credibility of Saturday’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections heightened after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) reportedly failed to transmit polling unit results in real time, while the Obidient Movement alleged glitches on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Results Viewing (IReV) portal.
Business Hallmark had reported that Yiaga Africa in its preliminary report, raised concerns about the conduct of the election.
At several polling units visited in Karu and surrounding areas, election officials confirmed difficulties uploading results directly from the BVAS to the IReV portal, a key transparency measure introduced by INEC to allow public viewing of polling unit results in real time.
At Polling Units 012 and 013 located at Karu CBN Junction, officials told observers and journalists that repeated attempts to upload results were unsuccessful. The situation reportedly created tension at the polling centres, with party agents demanding immediate electronic transmission before the officials could leave for collation.
One of the polling officials explained: “You could see that we have repeatedly tried uploading the result on the IReV portal, but it keeps returning unsuccessfully. We have also contacted the manual book given to us by INEC, but we still couldn’t successfully upload the results.
“In fact, the manual asked that we use the Chrome app in the BVAS, but it’s obvious that the BVAS has no Chrome app. It means the device was not properly configured. This BVAS was given to us a few minutes before we left the INEC office this morning.”
The officials, who comprised National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, INEC ad hoc staff and security personnel, said they were instructed to take the devices to the collation centre for upload, suggesting that the task would be handled by more senior INEC officials.
The development led to doubts and agitation in some quarters, as party agents and observers insisted on real-time electronic transmission to safeguard the integrity of the results. In response, the polling officials appealed for calm and proposed that party agents accompany them to the collation centre to witness the upload process.
“Nevertheless, we would take it to the collation centre so that our supervisors could do the upload and possibly teach us ahead of the 2027 elections. Unfortunately, we are not the only ones affected. A few other polling units in Karu and its environs had similar challenges,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the presiding officer at PU012, identified as Kudirat, maintained that due process was followed in the manual collation of votes. She confirmed that sorting and counting were conducted in the presence of party agents, who signed the result sheets.
“As expected, duplicated copies of the results have been distributed to the party agents and the security officials. We also encouraged them to join us at the collation centre so they could attest to the transparency of the process,” she said.
The BVAS was introduced by INEC to accredit voters and upload polling unit results directly to the IReV portal, a platform designed to boost transparency and public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
However, the transmission challenges coincided with fresh allegations by the Obidient Movement regarding the functionality of the IReV portal itself.
In a statement titled “Alert from the Obidient Movement Headquarters,” the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, claimed that results reportedly uploaded from various polling units were not reflecting on the IReV server.
“Information reaching us indicates that the IReV server is active but not displaying results that were reportedly uploaded successfully from various polling units,” the statement read.
The group called on its supporters and Nigerians to remain vigilant throughout the collation process.
“All Obidients and Nigerians are therefore encouraged to remain alert and vigilant. If necessary, we urge everyone to proceed peacefully to the Area 10 INEC office and Karu for the collation process and observe developments closely.
“Ensure that you have the accurate results from your respective polling units for proper verification. Let us remain calm, law-abiding, and committed to protecting the integrity of the electoral process through peaceful and lawful means,” Tanko added.
The FCT Area Council elections, held across Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, Abaji and Kwali, are widely seen as a significant grassroots political contest in the nation’s capital.
As of press time, INEC had yet to issue an official response addressing the reported BVAS transmission failures or the alleged IReV glitch.
Despite the technical setbacks, polling officials in affected units insisted that the manual processes of counting, documentation and distribution of result copies to party agents were duly completed, assuring stakeholders that the outcomes would not be tampered with.