Voting in parts of the Ondo South Senatorial District by-election was disrupted on Saturday by a BVAS network glitch, leaving several voters stranded at polling units and delaying the accreditation process.
The incident occurred at Mahin Ward 4, Unit 13, in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, where election officials struggled to process voters due to poor network connectivity affecting the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
Scores of voters were seen waiting for hours as accreditation stalled, with officials attributing the challenge to unstable network service.
One of the affected voters, Bunmi Adeniyi, expressed frustration over the delay, saying she had waited for more than an hour without being accredited.
“For over one hour now, I have been waiting, but I have not been able to get accredited to vote. The INEC officials told us that the BVAS is experiencing network failure,” she said.
An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Samuel Idowu, explained that the BVAS challenge was caused by poor network connectivity.
He said, “We are using the Glo network, so we don’t have smooth access to the internet. We have already appealed to residents to exercise patience with us.”
He disclosed that 39 voters had successfully voted before the technical challenge worsened, adding that efforts were ongoing to restore normalcy at the polling unit.
The Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mutiu Agboke, acknowledged the network challenge but described it as a general issue affecting some polling units.
“We have seen that there are some network problems. It is a general thing,” he said, adding that early openings were recorded in most polling units and that there were no reports of violence or casualties.
“It is something from the centre, and I am sure our technical team is looking into it. The important thing is that there is no crisis anywhere,” he added.
National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, also assured that the commission would resolve the BVAS challenges and continue the electoral process.
“It is a general problem and not necessarily our problem,” he said. “Anybody who is already on the queue will still be attended to. Even if it is 6 p.m., we will still attend to them as long as they were in the queue before closing time.”
Ajayi clarified that results would be transmitted through BVAS to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), stressing that the platform only displays uploaded result sheets and does not compute totals.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Olabiyi Poroye, who monitored the exercise, said voters remained committed despite the technical setbacks.
“The people are willing, and you can see that they came out as early as possible. But naturally, because of network problems, we are having some challenges.”
He added that the BVAS device at the unit had developed a minor fault and was being attended to by technical engineers.
Member representing Mahin Constituency in the Ondo State House of Assembly, Olawunmi Fayemi-Obeyelu, praised the turnout, especially the participation of women.
“Women often come out more than men during elections, and the story is still the same today,” she said, noting that women accounted for a significant proportion of voters despite the delay.
