OHAZURUME - Unizik Journal of Culture and Civilization

This paper examines language use in the application of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) technology during the 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria. The aim is to find out how far the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had maintained its promise to conduct free, fair and credible election in 2023 by analysing what happened before and during the Presidential election vis-à-vis the guiding principles set forth by the commission. It adopts a qualitative research design, which has enabled a description and interpretation of the data. The paper reviews Nigeria’s electoral system from 2015 to date, discusses the relevance of the BVAS technology for 2023 election, and explicates INEC’s choice of words for choosing its guiding principles. Excerpts from statements made by the INEC chairman before the 2023 election as well as statements by individuals on what happened during the presidential election form the data for analysis. The result reveals some elements of irony in INEC’s fulfillment of its promise to conduct free, fair and credible election. For example, the final function of the BVAS, which suggests real time transmission of Polling Unit result to INEC Result Verification (IReV) portal for easy verification during collation, was jettisoned for the Presidential election on 25th February, 2023, against INEC’s promise of a transparent election.

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