The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has advised registered voters to take part in the Saturday mock accreditation utilising the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System at the 436 authorised polling places around the country (BVAS).
Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, made the request on Monday in Abuja while hosting a delegation from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), which was led by Anthony Banbury.
He said: “One of the things that we have decided to do is to ensure that we test run the device by conducting a mock accreditation exercise. We have announced that this exercise is going to happen on Saturday, February 4, meaning it is going to happen this weekend. So once again, I seize the opportunity of this visit to appeal to Nigerians to please go to the designated polling units.
“In the unlikely event of challenges, we have time between the conclusion of the exercise and the general election to respond to the challenges. But we are very happy with the functionality of the machines so far, particularly the tests carried out on the number of machines received in preparation for the general election.
“I think we’re lucky the preparation has gone on very well. And then, with the benefit of the new Electoral Act, we have more time to prepare than our predecessors had in the past,” he concluded.
Yakubu stated that INEC was also coordinating logistics with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for an early start, the conclusion of voting, and the announcement of the results.
He also confirmed that the commission would start training election duty personnel on February 9.
