The newly confirmed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has vowed to conduct a comprehensive audit of the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal to identify and resolve the technical glitches that undermined public confidence during the 2023 general elections. He recently revealed that the review would help to restore credibility to the country’s electoral process.
Speaking during his screening before the Senate, Amupitan shared that he plans to strengthen the deployment of election technology ahead of future polls.
According to him, the IReV and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were introduced to enhance transparency and integrity in elections, so he intends to conduct a proper investigation to figure out what went wrong in the previous election.
He stated that during his reign as INEC chairman, he would audit the IReV system to determine the root causes of the glitches experienced in 2023 and evaluate whether the existing technology can meet Nigeria’s electoral needs.
“I believe what happened in 2023 was subsumed as a glitch.
Before the election, my understanding, based on a review of Supreme Court decisions, was that there was no clarity as to the purpose of IReV.
The IReV was supposed to be a safeguard for comparison because the laws made by this distinguished Senate did not do away with manual collation.
However, IReV was supposed to provide some guarantee for checks and balances. I have to audit the system, if I’m given the opportunity, to see what is actually wrong and whether we have what it takes as it is now.
Because it is not just the INEC responsibility, but also that of other agencies like NCC, NIMC, and service providers who must work together to deliver technology that Nigerians can trust,” he said.
Amupitan further assured lawmakers that he would undertake a broader audit of INEC’s operations to identify and tackle factors limiting the commission’s independence and efficiency.
He concluded by pledging to uphold the autonomy of the commission and work closely with the National Assembly to strengthen electoral reforms that would guarantee free and fair elections.
“Although it has been legislated that funds should be released a year before elections, this often does not happen in time, leaving the institution financially constrained.
We will look at the spirit and letter of the Constitution, as well as the laws made by the National Assembly.
We will use our knowledge to ensure that INEC is independent. And we will have an audit to see what those limiting factors are and deal with them accordingly,” he added.
