Opposition political parties in Nigeria, civil society organisations (CSOs), and Ethnic Youth leaders, have raised the alarm over a plot to force the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop the electronic transmission of election results and deactivate the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) in the 2023 general election.
The opposition parties, CSOs, and ethnic groups disclosed this at a joint press conference held in Abuja, attended by the Labour Party, PDP, AA, ADC, APP, and other registered and deregistered political parties.
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) spokesman, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, who read the speech, alleged that there was immense pressure on the leadership of the INEC to deactivate the BIVAS from the server.
According to him, the pressure has been resisted by INEC, hence the plot by some governors to allegedly commence another plot to cause a leadership change in the electoral management body which will consume top officials including the chairman and the few national commissioners who are still insisting on the use of the BVAS.
The opposition coalition also resolved that they will petition the United Kingdom High Commission and the United States Embassy and alert them of the alleged new conspiracy which threatens the Nigerian electoral process and regional stability.
He said, “we will urge them to keep vigilant eyes on the process as development partners and ensure there is adequate vigilance and support plus pressure to ensure the right things are done in compliance with extant laws.”
They also resolved to immediately approach the court to seek judicial redress to ensure the electoral process is not derailed.
The suit, when filed, will restrain the Federal Government, DSS, Nigeria Police, National Assembly, ICPC, CCB, EFCC, CCT, and Attorney General of the Federation, from stopping the use of BIVAS, deactivating BIVAS from the INEC server, removing of the INEC chairman, arresting or using an exparte injunction to suspend him, suspending him from office under any guise or any form of detention to remove him from acting as INEC chairman.
National chairmen of registered and deregistered political parties, the opposition coalition CUPP, and Civil Society groups numbering over 50, along with hundreds of their members, attended the press briefing, which had in attendance leading National Chairmen and representatives of Opposition parties and chieftains from Labour party, AA, PDP, ADC, APP, High Chief Peter Ameh, Opposition Coalition Spokesperson Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, Alhaji Turaki, Barr.Kenneth Udeze, former Reps member Geff Ojinika, Hon. Abu Mustapha and others.
Recall that CUPP had a few weeks ago also uncovered an alleged compromise of the voters’ registration exercise.
The BIVAS is an electronic machine that will be used to electronically accredit all voters for the 2023 general election and also be used to transmit election results from the Polling Units direct to the INEC central server.
The BVAS had been deployed in the last three cycle governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun states and has been observed to have generally improved the credibility of the elections as the perennial problems associated with snatching of result sheets and changing of results at collation centers has been solved.
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