INEC says with the arrival of the last consignment in Abuja it has now taken delivery of the required number of BVAS machines for all polling units in the country.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken delivery of its last consignment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said on Wednesday that the Commission's Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, national commissioners and senior officials took delivery of the machines on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said officials of the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company and airport security officials were on hand at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to receive the INEC team.

"To facilitate the smooth delivery of the machines, the commission created four airport hubs in Abuja, Kano, Lagos, and Port Harcourt.

"Over the last four months, several flights delivered the BVAS to the designated airports for movement to states of the federation ahead of the 2023 elections," Mr Okoye told journalists.

He said with the arrival of the last consignment in Abuja on Tuesday, INEC had now taken delivery of the required number of BVAS machines for all polling units in the country.

He said the consignment included extra machines that would become handy in the event of an emergency.

Mr Okoye appreciated the support of all Nigerians in INEC's determination to deploy technology in the conduct of free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive 2023 general elections.

NAN