Voting activities were disrupted at a major polling unit in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Saturday after the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) experienced repeated technical faults.
The incident occurred at Polling Unit 018, situated at the open space in front of the Federal Polytechnic, where dozens of voters were left waiting in long queues.
The polling unit, which has 884 registered voters, commenced accreditation and voting around 8:30 a.m. after opening as scheduled. The exercise initially progressed smoothly before the BVAS device began experiencing technical issues.
The malfunction significantly slowed the voter accreditation process, resulting in a growing backlog of voters awaiting their turn to cast ballots.
A visit to the polling centre at about 11:45 a.m. revealed long queues as electoral officials worked to manage the situation amid the recurring glitches.
Several voters expressed dissatisfaction with the delay, noting that the faulty device had extended the voting process and left them waiting for hours under the sun.
Despite the setbacks, many residents remained at the polling unit, determined to participate in the governorship election.
As of the time this report was filed, accreditation and voting were still ongoing, although at a reduced pace due to the BVAS challenges.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were reportedly making efforts to resolve the technical issues and ensure that eligible voters were accredited and allowed to cast their ballots.
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