Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) breakdown caused voting to be delayed on Saturday at Unit 5, Ward 11, Azama Primary School, Etsako West LGA, Edo State.

Voters were blocked from casting their ballots by the situation, including Mr Philip Shaibu, the former deputy governor of Edo State.

Shaibu, like many other voters who had congregated early to exercise their civic rights, had not cast a ballot as of 12:10 p.m.

Many were irate as they waited for INEC officials to either replace or fix the broken BVAS machine, which was essential for voter accreditation.

Shaibu responded to the circumstances by expressing his disappointment but maintaining his optimism. He said, “Since then, we have been here, and the machine is not working.”

He informed reporters, “Reports from other units in this local government indicate they are not having this issue—it’s only here.”

Still, he held back from declaring that the issue was deliberate sabotage.

“The INEC officer promised us that they would bring another working machine and extend the voting time so that we could cast our votes,” Shaibu continued. They are clearly working on it, as I can tell.

Voting at Shaibu’s unit has been delayed, in contrast to reports from other local government units where it has gone off without a hitch.

INEC is trying to fix the technical problems and guarantee that all eligible voters can take part in the Edo gubernatorial elections.