Improve use of BVAS to make rigging more difficult – KRRT to Tinubu

The Kogi Recalibration and Restoration, KRRT, Team has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to deepen the faith of Nigerians in the electoral system by improving the use of Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) in the electoral guidelines and the Electoral Act, to make rigging of elections more difficult in Nigeria.

The Head Advocacy, Kogi Recalibration and Restoration Team, Dr Felix Ojoachele Akor made the call in a statement made available to Our Kogi State Correspondent on Sunday May 26.

He also called on the National Assembly to examine further ways to improve the Electoral Act to reduce rigging with punishment of imprisonment for National Electoral Officers or Commissioners who supervise elections, and aid and abet the compromise of the election.

Dr. Akor, further admonished the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to embrace in-house mechanisms within its guidelines to make it punishable for any INEC regular or adhoc staff to accept or declare any result in any polling unit or collation centre that is not in keeping with the guidelines or the Electoral Act.

His words "Kogi Recalibration and Restoration Team is calling on the Federal Government to further improve the electoral process by strengthening the use of the Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS).

"The ordinary people of Kogi State, who have become the real critical stakeholders, and drove the change agenda against alleged mis-governance of Yahaya Bello in Kogi State are confident that the government of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be fair to all parties that are in court over the Kogi State gubernatorial election, and allow the courts to adjudicate according to the new law that guides the use of Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) in our new attempt to improve the quality of election in Nigeria".

On the alleged N80.2billion fraud instituted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC) against former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Dr Akor said "An invitation from EFCC to Yahaya Bello to come to explain himself is not an invitation to jail. It is when an explanation is not given correctly, appropriately and satisfactorily to an allegation that matters may begin to arise.

"The Government of His Excellency Bola Tinubu is called upon to take note that the people of Kogi State, particularly Kogi East, are fully behind his government at the centre towards ensuring that EFCC is empowered to do its work irrespective of whose ox is gored. There should be no amount of political pressure by those who thought that eight years was forever to cow the government from performing its statutory functions. The whole world is watching.

"The majority of the people of Kogi State are in support of the routine questioning after completion of a tenure. This process will continue to encourage those who demonstrate interest, and participate in election to get mandate to lead us, to also know that it is part of the package after completing a tenure of either four or eight years, to expose oneself through the books of account, for questioning. This is democracy. Let leaders not continue to think that they can ride the people roughshod without consequences".

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