LG polls: Alia has no problem with BVAS, aide tackles sacked election boss

The Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, said on Monday that he has no problem with the use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation Machine in the conduct of local government elections in the state.

Alia, who spoke through his Technical Adviser on Publicity and Strategy, Solomon Iorpev, said what he needs is a credible election.

This is in response to the submission of the former chairman of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, Dr John Chen.

Chen in a telephone chat with our correspondent on Monday had accused the state government of not being comfortable with his plans to make use of BVAS to conduct the local government election.

He said, “I started having problems with the state government at the time I paid a courtesy visit to the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state and requested for the release of BVAS to help us conduct credible local government election.

“I led officers of the commission to pay a courtesy visit on July 8, 2024, where we requested the cooperation of INEC in providing the necessary resources to facilitate the process of conducting credible and transparent local government elections.

“I requested a soft copy of the registered voters and Bimodal Voters Accreditation Machine (BVAS) in the conduct of local government

“Also, I requested training and technical support but not long after the visit, I started receiving calls on why I was requesting BVAS.

“I did not know that the state was dissatisfied with it until I sought clarification from the national secretariat of the party to know who is the authentic chairman of the party in the state.”

But the governor, in a swift response through Iorpev, described the governor as a transparent person whose main desire is to have a credible local government election in the state.

Iorpev said, “The governor is not bound by whether you want to use BVAS or not, as long as the election is credible and transparent.

“But you should know that BVAS are not at the disposal of the state government, they are strictly on the exclusive of INEC.

“BSIEC is an independent commission and the governor has no intention of interfering with its activities.”

Recall that the state governor, Alia, had penultimately removed the state electoral boss on Friday following the recommendation of the state assembly.

The state house of assembly had earlier recommended the removal of the BSIEC chairman, accusing him (chairman) of poor judgment.

The governor had subsequently sworn in a new chairman, Richard Telumun.

PUNCH Online reported that the Benue State electoral body shifted the state’s local government election from July 6, to November 16, 2024.

Chen said the change of date was due to logistical constraints.

When asked if he felt bad about his removal, Chen said, “I don’t feel bad because my integrity is intact. I prefer to have my integrity intact rather than get entangled with their internal politics.