In anticipation of the Ondo State governorship election set for Saturday, November 16, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled a mock accreditation exercise for November 6.
The exercise will serve as a trial run for the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the result upload process to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
INEC announced that 12 Polling Units (PUs) across six Local Government Areas (LGAs), covering Ondo State’s three senatorial districts, have been chosen for the mock accreditation.
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, encouraged registered voters to participate in the exercise by bringing their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
In Ondo Central Senatorial District, the exercise will occur in Akure South and Idanre LGAs. In Akure South, Alagbaka Primary School and Ijapo High School in Akure will serve as centers, while in Idanre, Our Saviour Primary School, Aiyetoro/Owena I, and Open Space in front of Plot 6, beside the Teaching Service Commission in Owena, are designated venues.
For the Ondo North Senatorial District, Owo and Akoko South West LGAs will host the exercise. In Owo, Methodist Primary School on Fajuyi Road and Imade College Gate on Ajaka Street I are the selected centers. The Open Space at Ago Ajayi and L.A. Primary School, both in Oba, are designated locations for Akoko South West LGA.
In Ondo South Senatorial District, the two LGAs involved are Odigbo and Okitipupa. Odigbo’s selected locations include St. John’s Primary School in Ajue and Isero Grammar School in Odigbo, while Okitipupa LGA’s centers are the Open Space at Oladipupo Lebi Street, near Zhomelo Lodge, and Baptist Primary School in Ode Aye.
Providing further details, INEC specified, “The mock exercise will be held on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, at the designated PUs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.”
The commission stressed that only registered voters from the selected polling units are eligible to participate, urging, “The commission appeals to registered voters to come out with their PVCs for the exercise. Please note that only registered voters for the designated polling units are invited to participate in the exercise. No voter from another polling unit can be accredited by the BVAS.”
