The Independent National Electoral Commission has acquired 57,000 new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines to strengthen preparations for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced this Monday in Abuja during a strategic workshop for media executives organised by the commission and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
Amupitan said the new machines would improve the commission’s technological capacity and support credible elections.
“We have acquired 57,000 new BVAS for optimal performance,” he said.
He added that existing BVAS devices had undergone “software hardening, battery optimisation, and biometric calibration to prevent accreditation bypass and eliminate manual manipulation.”
BVAS is used to verify voters’ identities and fingerprints or facial features before they can vote.
The technology is also part of INEC’s efforts to prevent impersonation and strengthen the voting process.
The commission also plans to improve its electronic results management system and the eEC8A form, which is used to record polling unit results.
Amupitan said the improvements would help ensure results are properly authenticated and uploaded to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal, IReV.
The announcement comes as the number of registered voters in Nigeria has risen above 103 million ahead of the elections.
Amupitan said the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise recorded 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to final verification.
He also announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards would begin on Friday, 9th October, with cards available at local government collection centres.
The INEC chairman said the commission was improving existing election technologies rather than introducing untested systems shortly before the polls.
He also urged journalists to verify information before publication, warning that fake news and manipulated videos could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
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