2023: Expectations high as Nigeria holds polls, census

The year 2023 will go down in the annals of history as one that would be a reference point in Nigeria.

The Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections in June and July, 2022, respectively, were a forerunner to the general elections in 2023 and the successes recorded in both gubernatorial elections not minding the legal squabbles, were hailed as exceptional.

To achieve that level of success, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s electoral umpire, introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine to counter electoral frauds.

The introduction of this new technology upped the game as many politicians were left confused with no other option but to submit to the choice of the people.

Notwithstanding this, it has been alleged in several fora that the politicians have been trying other means of circumventing the BVAS machine.

General elections

The INEC had in 2022 scheduled February 2023 for the presidential election.

The commission rolled out continuous voter registration and the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

The electoral umpire also tested the efficacy of the BVAS machines and it came out with satisfactory results. With the results recorded, INEC had made it a point that it was going ahead with the use of the BVAS machine technology.

The front liners in the election are Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The atmosphere is set and the dramatis personae are set to do battle but the battle cannot be won without the active involvement and participation of the electorates