The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has expressed confidence that the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will eliminate money politics from Nigerian elections, spokesperson of the Council, Festus Keyamo, said.
Keyamo, who is also the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the introduction of BVAS electronic transmission of result from polling units.
He said that with the introduction of the two technologies into Nigerian elections, it would be difficult to change results at collation centres.
“Let’s be honest, you can see it in one or two isolated units, can you buy 40 million votes?
“You see in one or two units people sharing money, you now say the whole election is tainted. That is not true. You can’t buy so many votes.
“Even when you give people money to go and give to voters, they rather pocket the money; they will not give them, they would rather beg them. So that’s the truth.
“For me, BVAS is a blessing. BVAS is a blessing because it will deemphasise money in politics.
“From the unit level straight to the central server in Abuja you can access the central server from the ward collation center but you cannot change it, but you can enter and see what has been transmitted to Abuja.
“So when the wrong copy comes from the unit you can compare and say this is what has been transmitted to Abuja.
“Who do you want to bribe there, who? Nobody.
“So for me, even BVAS has reduced the issue of money in politics and I love that.’’
Keyamo, however, canvassed that INEC should have all party agents at the commission’s Situation Room where it collates all the results from the polling unit level.
He said that would ensure transparency and avert dangerous mistakes in the collation of results.
“Let me tell you the danger about electronic transmission of result, it is very good but if you make any mistake and it is out already and you say no it was a mistake, I want to change it, you want to burn this country.
“Even if it was a genuine mistake; if for example you say 300+300, you now record 350.
“And you say sorry it is supposed to be 600 but you have already released 350, you can’t change it to 600 again. Even if 300+300 is correct, you can’t change it.
“Because the person who it favours will start burning. That is the danger in electronic transmission,’’ he said.
