FAKE NEWS ALERT: Passwords for results upload not withdrawn from officials in Imo, says INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked a social media report claiming it withdrew passwords for the the upload of results to the viewing portal (IReV) from its officials in Imo.

In a post on his official X account, Chidi Odinkalu, lawyer and human rights activist, had said there will be IReV malfunction during the election in Imo.

He said this is because the passwords to be used for the upload of results have been withdrawn from the officials in charge.

“I have just learnt from concerned workers that the password to transmit results to IREV issued yesterday to LGA supervisors in Imo for use by APO1s tomorrow have been withdrawn without reason. New passwords have not been issued. Expect IREV “malfunction”tomorrow,” the post reads.

But in a statement on Friday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, spokesperson to the INEC chairman, said all passwords have been released to the officials in charge of the procedure.

He added that presiding officers, and not assistant presiding officers, are responsible for the upload of results to the IREV.

“The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission has been drawn to a story attributed to unknown “concerned workers” of the Commission that passwords for result upload have been withdrawn from LGA Supervisors for use by APO1s in Imo State. This is untrue,” the statement reads.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Presiding Officers (POs), and not APO1s, are responsible for result upload to the IReV.

“All the passwords have been securely released for use by designated officials in line with the Commission’s procedure.

“The public should expect more of such insinuations before, during and after the elections, and continue to discountenance them.”

During the presidential election in February 2023, INEC’s failure to use the IReV had generated a lot of controversies with many questioning the credibility of the poll as a result.

But the supreme court had held that failure to use IREV in an election does not invalidate the electioneering process.