Anxiety As INEC Delays Uploading Results On Portal, Yiaga Africa, Utomi, Others Express Concerns

Contrary to impression created by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that results would be uploaded on its portal  simultaneously, during elections, the results have not been uploaded, over four hours after voting ended, fueling anxiety.

Nigerians were made to believe that the  introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) a technology to upload election results in real time, for the 2023 general elections would ensure a free, fair and credible election.

According to the civil society organisation, no result was uploaded after voting and counting ended in several polling units as of 7 pm on election day.

The group which has monitored previous general elections made this known in a post on its verified Twitter handle on Saturday.

“Yiaga Africa is deeply concerned with the delay in uploading polling unit results for the Presidential election on the INEC Election Result Portal. As at 7pm on election day, no result was uploaded after voting & counting ended in several polling units,” the post read.

There have been outcries on social media regarding the delay in uploading polling units results on the INEC portal.

Earlier in a Twitter post, a Labour Party chieftain, Pat Utomi, according to Channels Television, said he spoke to his party’s Chairman who expressed fear that there might be youth uprising if they sense that the election might be rigged.

His post read, “Just spoke to Labour Party Chairman Abure who fears that the upload failure epidemic may be seen by the youth as attempt to rig a clear Labour landslide across the country. He is scared that if they hit the streets Nigeria could burn. I urge Chairman Yakubu to redeem himself.”
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He later tweeted that INEC has assured him that portals will open.

Also, the House of Representatives candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Eti-Osa, Lagos State, Bankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, urged his supporters not to leave their polling units until results are uploaded.

“Please do not allow INEC to leave your polling unit without uploading the results. They MUST upload before they leave. It’s the law.”