‘Uzodinma is not Opposed to Use of BVAS in 2023 Election’

President of the Centre for Convention on Democratic integrity (CCDI), Mr. Olufemi Aduwo, yesterday said   that  independent findings carried out by his organisation showed  that the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma is not opposed to the use of the innovative Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the 2023 general elections.

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) had alleged that there was a secret court action to stop the use of BVAS in the 2023 general elections. The coalition, addressing a press conference in Abuja, through its spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere,  had claimed it was in possession of evidence to that effect. It, however, did not disclose the plaintiff to the suit it claimed had been filed in a court in the South East region of the country.

But Aduwo,  in a statement,  faulted  the claim of the CUPP, saying that  the Imo State Governor couldn’t have been the one fingered by the CUPP.

He added that having been a beneficiary of the Nigerian legal system, Uzodinma is at the forefront of ensuring democratic values are entrenched and as such, could never be averse to the use of BVAS in the 2023 election nor can he be making surreptitious moves to remove the INEC chairman.

The statement reads in parts:”Miffed by the alarm by the CUPP that there is an ongoing move to use the court in Owerri, Imo State to stop the use of BVAS in the 2023 elections and a plot to ensure the sack of the INEC Chairman, we at CCDI proceeded with an intelligent investigation to ascertain the veracity of the claim and puncture the lie that Uzodinma was responsible for the ulterior action.

“Our findings, however, exonerated the governor but  established that he is working towards strengthening the electoral process in the state by fostering a level playing ground for all parties in the state to participate in the general election.

“Having been a beneficiary of the judicial legal system, it is preposterous for some politicians to have imagined that the alleged court process must have been initiated by the Imo State Governor. This is a baseless accusation and we urge the public to ignore it as a figment of the people’s imaginations,” Aduwo stated.

He  warned that careless, senseless and irresponsible statements must be checked to avert multi dimensional crises, saying this could only be done if those found culpable are made to face the law either as individuals or groups. It described as inflammatory a statement credited to CUUP spokesperson such  development were  worrisome, saying the statement was capable of promoting disaffection and causing chaos and ridicule judiciary as corrupt made up of men and women of impaired character. We call on appropriate security agency to investigate the weighty allegations Ugochinyere made, because of the implications on our judiciary system.

BVAS) is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters, using the voters’ fingerprints, in order to prove that they are eligible to vote at a particular polling unit.