BVAS Brings New Order to Nigeria Elections

The head of Nigeria’s electoral commission, Joash Amupitan, used a major tech conference in Abuja to explain how the country’s voting process has changed with the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System.

He spoke through national commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu at the Digital Nigeria International Conference, where he said the tool has reshaped election security.

He described how the device ended long-standing issues such as identity fraud and repeated voting. He explained that biometric checks now block impersonation at polling units, leaving only properly registered voters able to take part in elections.

He pointed to recent data from the Anambra governorship race to show how the system works in real time. Thousands of devices were deployed and almost all polling results reached the INEC viewing portal on the same day, giving the public clear access to what came from each unit.

He recalled that earlier digital tools lacked strong backing in law, which made them weak during tribunal cases. He said that a key clause in the Electoral Act changed that situation by giving legal force to the devices and boosting public trust in the process.

He noted that network issues still slow down operations in some areas. He said the commission is working with telecom firms and exploring new options to reduce these gaps and keep the system running even in places with poor connectivity.

He told political actors that the country will not return to manual accreditation. He said the agency plans to improve on the current tools so voters can be verified easily, votes can be counted properly, and results can be shared openly—ending the era of ghost names in Nigeria’s elections.