Technical glitches with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) disrupted voting for several elderly residents during Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, leaving many unable to complete the accreditation process.
The challenges were reported in parts of Ado Ekiti, Ikere Ekiti and Iyin Ekiti, where affected voters said the machines repeatedly failed to verify their fingerprints or facial details despite multiple attempts by electoral officials.
Among those affected was 86-year-old Aliyu Sunday, who arrived early at his polling unit in Ado Ekiti but could not proceed to vote after the accreditation device failed to recognise him.
A similar experience was recorded by Mary Ajagbanla, believed to be around 120 years old, at a polling unit in Iyin Ekiti. Efforts to authenticate her details through the BVAS were unsuccessful, leaving her waiting for a resolution.
Despite the setback, Ajagbanla remained hopeful that she would eventually cast her ballot.
“I arrived here around 9 am. But I was told the machine couldn’t read my face. I was told to wait.
“I will wait. I won’t leave until I vote. I will be patient. I have been voting for long. I can remember I voted during Adebayo (When Adeyinka Adebayo) was governor. I voted 4 years ago, too,” he said.
