The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the use Bimodal Verification and Accreditation System (BVAS).

Mr Adamu gave the commendation in an interview in Abuja on Monday.

“Although the system malfunctioned in some places, it is not overwhelming to question the credibility of the election.

“We heard from INEC that some BVAS malfunctioned. We expected it because it is a technology and with the political environment like our own, I am not expecting it to be 100 per cent.

“I must commend INEC that though there were hitches, they were not particularly overwhelming to a point of questioning the credibility of the election.

“I think it has been worth the experiment and it should be used for subsequent elections,” he said.

Mr Adamu said he is optimistic that the APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, will win the presidential election.

“If the information we are beginning to receive from various parts of the country is anything to go by, one has every reason to be optimistic that our candidate will win.

“I know Tinubu will win because of his faith in God and we have worked for it and we believe Nigerians have listened to us just as they have listened to others.

“I believe our message has gone deeper and has bigger spread and understanding of what we are,” he said.

On what the party intends to do differently for national development should Mr Tinubu win, Mr Adamu said everything is contained in the manifesto.

He said APC party members were not beginners, adding that they had been “tested” by Nigerians.

According to him, there is no denying the fact that given their expertise, understanding and goodwill their candidate qualify to win.

On vote buying, the chairman said he did not believe in it.

He said, “I do not believe in this idea of people claiming to be purists, having holier than thou attitude to life and being pretentious.

“I believe very electoral system and every country has problems that are peculiar to it.

“I want the person that would come out to say from the beginning to the end that there was no money in his or her political activity till the day he or she was declared winner or loser.”

On whether or not the cashless policy affected the conduct of the election, the former governor said “the problems have stayed but we were able to move on.

“If you have a choice then you talk of what to do and what not to do but we do not have a choice for the election to wait for it.

“I think our ability and doggedness to achieve certain feat in the face of difficulties has made us to withstand this,” he said.

Mr Adamu thanked Nigerians for turning out enmass for the election and conducting themselves peacefully.

He said in spite of the few hitches experienced in some places, there had not been any major mishap.

While thanking God for taking control of the election, the chairman said the election was about one of the biggest he had witnessed.

On his ability to manage some crisis the party faced prior to the election, Mr Adamu thanked God for His guidance as well as the leadership and other members of the party for their cooperation.

He further said he was able to manage the crisis because he provided the leadership that represented different interests and a common goal.

(NAN)