Former presidential aide and ex-lawmaker, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has raised fresh concerns about the slow pace of accreditation and voting in the ongoing Ekiti State governorship election.

Ojudu attributed the delay to malfunctions with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.

Speaking on Saturday after casting his vote at Polling Unit 009, Ward 8, Ereguru, Ado-Ekiti, Ojudu lamented that technical issues with the BVAS machine were delaying the electoral process despite the impressive voter turnout.

Ojudu, who commended residents for turning out early to participate in the election, said many voters had arrived at the polling unit as early as 8 a.m. but were forced to endure long waits due to difficulties during accreditation.

According to him, it took election officials nearly 30 minutes to capture his fingerprints and facial details before he was accredited to 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,” Ojudu said.

“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.”

He disclosed that, as of 8:59 a.m., he remained the only voter to have successfully voted at the polling unit, despite dozens of voters waiting patiently to be accredited.

Ojudu blamed the delay on what he described as persistent BVAS malfunctions, warning that prolonged technical hitches could discourage voters and undermine confidence in the electoral process.

“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,” he said.

“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 urged officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission to swiftly address the technical issues to ensure that eligible voters are not disenfranchised.

As of the time of filing this report, accreditation and voting were still ongoing at the polling unit, while many voters remained in queues awaiting their turn to cast their ballots. (The Nation)

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