The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed as unfounded, allegation by the campaign team of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in Kogi State, Muritala Ajaka that three staff of the electoral body are reconfiguring the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System ( BVAS) machines in Lord Lugard House, Lokoja, the Kogi state capital.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, in a statement entitled ‘Fake Alert’, said the alarm raised by SDP was untrue.
INEC maintained that the configuration of BVAS is done simultaneously and exclusively in its offices in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States professionally and strictly handled by teams deployed from the national HQ, Abuja.
It urged the general public to disregard the claim by SDP.
The statement reads in part “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a statement signed by ID Ijele, Director of New Media of the SDP Governorship campaign team in Kogi State. The statement alleged that three staff of INEC are right now maliciously reconfiguring the BVAS machines in the Government House, Lokoja, with the intention of manipulating the forthcoming Governorship election in a part of the State in favour of a candidate.
“The story is untrue. The three persons mentioned are not associated with the configuration of the BVAS machines and are not even in Kogi State at the moment. Mr. Nicholas Ocholi is on his duty post in our Ondo State office in Akure. Ibrahim Egbunu is attending to a very close family member hospitalised in Abuja. Mohammed Adara retired last year and is no longer a staff of the Commission.
“The configuration of BVAS is done simultaneously and exclusively in our offices in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States professionally and strictly handled by teams deployed from the national HQ, Abuja.
“The public is advised to disregard the story as fake news. At the same time, the Commission appeals to political parties to desist from engaging in malicious rumour mongering of this nature.”
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