The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has verified the claim that flooding affected 4000 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines in Edo State, as reported by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
On July 1, 2024, Sahara Reporters, an online news platform, shared a post on their verified X (formerly Twitter) account stating, “Flooding In Our Edo State Office Has Affected 4000 BVAS Machines – Electoral Commission, INEC.” The post included a link to a full report detailing the flooding incident and a statement attributed to INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu.
The BVAS machine is a crucial technological tool introduced by INEC to improve the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process. It is used for voter accreditation and result transmission, playing a vital role in reducing electoral fraud.
Edo State is preparing for its gubernatorial election scheduled for September 21, 2024. Any disruption to electoral equipment could potentially impact the smooth conduct of the election.
On July 1, 2024, INEC Chairman Mahmoud Yakubu addressed the issue while speaking to journalists.
He confirmed, “Over 4,000 machines were affected. We deployed our technical staff, we have already recovered over 3,500 of those machines and since this is an off-cycle election, if we are not able to recover the machines for Edo State, we will call for additional support from neighbouring states.”
Yakubu made these remarks on the sidelines of an induction ceremony for 10 new Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) and a retreat for both new and existing RECs. He assured that the flooding incident would not affect the upcoming Edo State governorship election.
The CDD War Room has verified this claim as TRUE.
The investigation found the actual interview where the INEC chairman disclosed that over 4,000 BVAS machines were affected by flooding in parts of Edo State.
However, Yakubu provided reassurance by stating that 3,500 of the affected BVAS machines have already been recovered.
He also outlined a contingency plan, indicating that if needed, the commission would request additional machines from neighboring states to ensure the smooth conduct of the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial election in Edo State.
