Voter Appeals to INEC After Repeated BVAS Facial Recognition Failures in Osogbo

A 55-year-old voter, Sharafa Lasisi, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resolve a persistent malfunction with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which has repeatedly failed to recognize his face and left him unable to cast his ballot.

Lasisi made the appeal on Saturday while attempting to vote at Polling Unit 006, Ward 04, in the Isale/Oke-Afo area of Ikirun, in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Osun State.

He said he had made several unsuccessful attempts to have his face verified by the BVAS machine. Election officials attributed the issue to network disruptions and advised him to return later in the day.

Following that advice, Lasisi went home, ate, and returned to the polling unit — only to encounter the same verification problem once again.

“My name is Sharafa Lasisi, from Alamisi Unit 6. At 55, I’ve tried having my face verified several times, but the network keeps disrupting the process,” he said. “They suggested I go home and eat, which I did, but the problem persists. I need their assistance so I can also cast my vote.”

Lasisi stressed the importance of ensuring he is not disenfranchised, and called on INEC to urgently address the technical fault so he and other affected voters can exercise their civic right.

Punch