A civil society group from Kogi State protested at the National Assembly, urging lawmakers to compel the electoral commission INEC to make the use of BVAS mandatory in all elections. The group alleged that BVAS technology was circumvented in the recent Kogi gubernatorial poll, betraying the assurances given by INEC about using BVAS to prevent over-voting.
According to Vanguard News, the group said, "Kogites feel so betrayed that after all the assurances given by INEC that BVAS machines will be used to curb over voting, some INEC officials compromised and sold Kogi State out."
The protesters demanded that the legal provisions mandating BVAS be strictly enforced without loopholes. They argued that the substantial public funds used to procure and deploy BVAS should not be wasted due to INEC's failures. The group called for the INEC chairman to be summoned before the Senate to explain why INEC defended the malpractices that undermined its own BVAS system.
Expressing a lack of faith in professors running elections, the protesters demanded that INEC be replaced by other institutions like retired military officers, religious leaders, and traditional rulers. They insisted that INEC should only declare results after verifying the BVAS accreditation data, and accused professors of incompetence in election management.