Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has clarified that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) operates offline on election day, addressing lingering concerns about network failures during elections.
In a 12 February 2026 video interview with Sahara Reporters, Yakubu explained that the accreditation and voting process does not depend on internet connectivity at polling units.
He disclosed that “The machine on election day does not require internet for upload, it works offline,”
He clarified that stated that network connectivity is only required when results are being transmitted, especially when it comes to scanning images of result sheets at polling units.
Former INEC Chairman – Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. Credit: Kola Sulaimon
“When it comes to transmission of results, that’s where it needs network but if there is no network in the immediate vicinity, the scanned image of polling unit level result which is taken using BVAS will be transmitted as soon as the staff move from the polling unit to the collation centre,” Yakubu said.
According to him, the commission is collaborating with telecommunications service providers to address the limitation of internet coverage in blind spots or rural areas.
The former INEC boss also said, “we are working with telecommunications companies, and we are satisfied that there are blind spots that can be addressed.”
Pundits criticised the electoral empire in the 25 February 2023 general elections when electronic transmission of results for the Senate and House of Representatives was successful but that of the presidential elections suffered a setback with only 19 percent results available on IRev portal in what later INEC explained as a “technical glitch.”
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Senate came under criticism for trying to smuggle manual collation in areas with poor network connection in the amendments to the Electoral Act.
Accreditation at Polling Unit. Credit: BBC
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have rejected the move by the Senate, under the leadership of Godswill Akpabio for endorsing electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) with the clause that allows for the manual collation of result sheets in the Form EC8A where electronic transmission becomes difficult.
It is yet to be seen if the ongoing national debate over electoral integrity in the new act will be resolved by the senate to calm frail nerves ahead of the 2027 elections.
