The 2025 governorship election at Polling Unit 001, Fegge, in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State, suffered a major setback on Saturday following the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine.

According to Channels Television, the machine was not functioning as of 9:55 a.m., thereby preventing accreditation and voting from taking off.

A reporter of the TV station, Eyitope Kuteyi, disclosed that INEC officials at the unit were left stranded, awaiting a replacement device from the commission’s technical team.

Kuteyi reported, “They are waiting for the BVAS to be replaced.”

The disruption left several early voters frustrated as they lingered around the centre, hoping the accreditation process would commence soon.

While the Fegge polling unit faced delays, voting had already begun in several other locations across the state, where INEC officials and BVAS devices arrived on time.

The commission earlier stated that 2,802,790 registered voters are expected to participate in the election across 5,718 polling units in the 21 LGAs of the state.

Naijaonpoint reports that the election, taking place across the state’s three senatorial districts, features 16 governorship candidates.

Prominent among them are:

Chukwuma Soludo (APGA), seeking a second term

Nicholas Ukachukwu (APC)

Paul Chukwuma (YPP)

George Moghalu (Labour Party)

Jude Ezenwafor (PDP)