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Results Can Be Relayed Once Online: Ex-INEC Chairman Discuss BVAS Offline Functionality

Yakubu explained that the device operates offline on election day, addressing concerns over network challenges that have trailed past electoral exercises.

Aformer Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has clarified that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used during elections does not require internet connectivity to function at polling units.

“The machine on election day does not require internet for upload, it works offline,” he stated.

According to him, internet connectivity only becomes necessary at the stage of transmitting results, particularly the scanned images of polling unit result sheets.

“When it comes to transmission of results, that’s where it needs network but if there is no network in the immediate vicinity, the scanned image of polling unit level result which is taken using BVAS will be transmitted as soon as the staff move from the polling unit to the collation centre,” Yakubu said.

He further disclosed that the electoral body has been engaging telecommunications providers to address areas with weak or no network coverage, often referred to as blind spots.

“And we are working with telecommunications companies and we are satisfied that there are blind spots that can be addressed,” he added.

The clarification comes amid ongoing public debate over the reliability of technology deployed in Nigeria’s electoral process, particularly regarding the electronic transmission of results.

INEC had introduced the BVAS to enhance transparency and credibility in elections by accrediting voters biometrically and uploading polling unit results to a public viewing portal. However, network-related challenges in some areas have previously sparked controversy and litigation.

Yakubu’s remarks underscore the commission’s position that accreditation and voting processes are not dependent on internet access at polling units, while result transmission is designed to occur once connectivity becomes available.

Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that

the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday amended the Electoral Act, altering Section 60 to mandate electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IREV), while simultaneously creating a major loophole that allows manual result sheets to prevail where electronic transmission fails.

The amendment was adopted during plenary proceedings monitored by SaharaReporters, with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, presiding.

Under the revised provision, presiding officers at polling units are required to electronically transmit results to the IREV portal after the completion of voting.

However, the amendment provides that where electronic transmission is unsuccessful due to communication or network failure, the manual result sheet — Form EC8A — shall become the primary basis for collation and declaration of results.

While putting the motion to a vote, Akpabio insisted that lawmakers who opposed the amendment should formally move a counter motion.

The Senate President’s comments and the Lawmakers position come amid growing controversy, public backlash and street protests by Nigerians who accuse the National Assembly of deliberately weakening the Electoral Act to undermine credible elections.

Former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, on Monday joined protesters under the banner of #OccupyNASS, organised by the National Opposition Movement (NOM), at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.

Sowore warned security operatives against any attempt to assault peaceful demonstrators and accused the political elite of engineering electoral laws that favour manipulation.

He argued that the ruling political class is afraid of transparent elections because it would expose their inability to win genuinely.

“We know why they are doing it. These people cannot win in free and fair elections. But the people have a duty to demand processes that guarantee free, legal and transparent elections,” he stated.