The Independent National Electoral Commission has said poor telecommunications connectivity remains the major hurdle to real-time transmission of election results despite improvements recorded with the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this at the 2025 Digital Nigeria International Conference and Exhibitions in Abuja. He was represented by National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Dayo Oketola, the commission has curbed voter impersonation and multiple voting but continues to struggle with uneven network coverage across the country.
“With 176,846 polling units tucked into swamps, perched on mountains, and hidden in far-flung communities, achieving real-time upload of Polling Unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal remains one of the toughest battles for transparency on Election Day.
“A tool like the BVAS is only as good as the network it runs on,” Amupitan said.
He explained that the commission is in ongoing discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission and service providers to address the challenge, while also exploring other technological options to improve transmission.
Amupitan reaffirmed that BVAS has effectively ended identity theft in Nigeria’s electoral process, insisting that instances of multiple voting and impersonation have been eliminated.
“The BVAS device has become our frontline defence against identity fraud, ensuring that only the rightful, eligible voter can be accredited at the polling unit. With the biometric safeguards now in place, voter impersonation has been effectively eliminated from our electoral system,” he said.