Tella disclosed this in Ibadan while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the state''s quarterly consultative meeting with civil society organisations.

Dr. Adeniran Tella, the Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, stated on Friday that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines cannot be delivered to the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC, for the local government elections on April 27. 

Tella disclosed this in Ibadan while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the state''s quarterly consultative meeting with civil society organisations.

He stated that BVAS included sensitive voter data and that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had decided not to distribute it for local government elections.

What OYSIEC needs for the election is the voter register and this has been given to them. The voter register will allow the state electoral body to know the number of registered voters and those who are eligible to cast their votes during the elections.

But BVAS is meant for the general elections and they are sensitive devices that we can not afford to toy with, he said.

Tella, while addressing representatives of over 25 civil society organisations at the consultation meeting, reassured that INEC would continue to partner with them to enable them to play vital roles in ensuring free, fair, transparent, inclusive and credible elections. 

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