P/HARCOURT  – Despite his several assur­ances of a better outing in the 2023 general elections, the Chairman of the Inde­pendent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, came under severe attack over the unimpressive performance of some of the facilities de­ployed for the presidential and National Assembly elec­tions on Saturday.

This is as the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, said that the slow performance of the Bi-Modal Voters Accred­itation Machine System (BI­VAS) was evidence of poor level of preparation on the part of INEC concerning the 2023 general elections.

Governor Wike expressed his displeasure when he spoke with journalists short­ly after he cast his vote at 12.42pm at his polling unit 7 in Ward 9, Rumueprikom of Obio/Akpor Local Govern­ment Area.

The governor and his wife, Justice Suzzette Ebere­chi Nyesom-Wike, had re­turned two hours after they were initially unable to cast their vote due to failure of BIVAS to accredit them.

Wike said despite the promise of fixing the iden­tified problem that delayed voting at the polling unit, INEC seemed still not in full control in order to ensure the BIVAS machine operate maximally.

“Of all the promises made since I left here two hours ago, the BIVAS is still not very functional. I don’t want to begin to suspect foul play.

“But, from reports that I have received from other local governments, it does appear to me that it is the same experience.

“And then, you now won­der why it will be the same experience to Rivers people. I don’t want to have any sus­picion yet. But, I don’t think it is quite encouraging.”

Wike pointed to how the problem should not be al­lowed unresolved because that could lead to disenfran­chising registered voters in the polling unit and other parts of the state that had similar experience.

“My people cannot be dis­enfranchised. As you can see, I have never done an election where you see this kind of crowd. I believe that they will extend the voting period (time) to 6.pm.

“Look at the time now; voting ought to have started from 8.30am to 2.30pm, but we are just starting. So, I’m not happy with the prepared­ness of INEC as regards the election.”

The governor said the vot­ers that had come out were patient, and enduring the scorching sun because they were determined to be part of the process.

“The electorate is still staying under the sun to make sure that they exercise their franchise. It is their right to vote. We have also told them that we believe it will be settled, but their pa­tience cannot be taken for granted.

“I believe that every Ni­gerian would want to par­ticipate in this particular election. So, INEC should do everything within their powers to make sure that the people vote. If the peo­ple don’t vote, they won’t be happy.”

The Rivers State governor was unable to cast his vote at about 10.50am when he first arrived his polling unit.

The BIVAS assigned to the unit could not function because of the technical problems, which made ac­crediting the governor and his wife difficult.