Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, has spoken to the Sunday Sun about the technical glitch that marred Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election and its implications for the commission’s credibility.
In an exclusive interview in Abuja, Okoye admitted that the glitch “dented the integrity of the commission” and that opposition parties “deserve some blame for abandoning their duties of protecting the mandate.” He warned that the 2027 general elections could face serious operational and technical threats, citing the “desperation of the political elite” who he said sponsor thugs to humiliate voters, steal ballot papers and ignite violence with incendiary language.
Okoye described his journey into INEC, noting that his appointment was “recognition” of his work in elections, human rights and policing law development. He highlighted a long list of roles, including Chair of the Transition Monitoring Group, member of the Commonwealth Election Observer Mission to Cameroon (2004), and chair of the Nigerian Bar Association Election Working Group.
During his tenure, INEC rolled out several innovations: the Voter Enrolment Device for home registration, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to prevent duplicate registrations, and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal to increase transparency. He also re‑engineered memoranda of understanding with transport unions to keep polling units open on time and devised a strategy that allowed the electoral process to continue during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Okoye expressed disappointment that, despite thorough preparation, the 2023 election was “ruined” by confusion over uploading presidential results in real time. He said the commission had conducted the collation “transparently” and that all major parties had already received results before they reached the National Collation Centre in Abuja.
“The commission explained the protocols to all political parties and stakeholders in the electoral process,” Okoye said, adding that the 176,846 polling units were staffed by APC, Labour, NNPP, PDP, SDP and ADC agents who had already accessed the results from the polling units.
With 8,809 registration areas and 774 local governments and area councils, collation also took place at those levels, according to Okoye, underscoring the scale of the electoral exercise and the challenges that remain for future elections.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
