By Samuel Edu

As the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC reiterated its determination for electronic transmission of results in the forthcoming general election, some Nigerians have continued to express reservations over the implementation of the idea.

They were skeptical about the preparedness of the electoral umpire with the Nigeria system and factors.

Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu during the Commission’s quarterly meeting with political parties for the year 2022 in Abuja said the commission is resolute in transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real-time for the 2023 elections.

Professor Olumide Obe of the Federal University of Technology, Akure was of the opinion that the problem with Nigeria is  implementation and the willingness on the path of government to do the needful.

“If technology is rightly used and government do what should be done, I believe the country should be able to adopt the e-voting system and manage the electronic transmission of result.

“One of the reasons why people think the country cannot handle this method is the problem associated with electricity and as said earlier, if the willingness is there, electricity will not be a barrier.

“If religious bodies can generate their own electricity by constructing a mobile power base station to make up for electricity, nothing stops the Independent National Electoral Commission and the government from doing the same if only they have the will power.

Professor Samuel Oluwadare said Rome was not built in a day and that if the government is committed enough, the adoption of e-voting system and electronic transmission of results is very possible.

“The results of elections in Ekiti and Osun States were done by e-transmission, there is always a starting point in anything anyone wants to accomplish. Though there might be some inadequacies in the first attempt, but with persistence and determination for improvement, it gets better.

“The government should do all within its powers to take electronic transmission a step further and I believe with consistency, e-voting is achievable.”

Dr Akintoba Akinwonmi opined that Nigeria is not yet ready for full transition into e-voting and electronic transmission of elections results.

“As for me, if Nigeria is adopting the e-voting and electronic transmission of results mechanism, I think it would be biting more it can chew.

“The first problem is that of the supporting infrastructure, except if the devices to be used will not need electricity because we do not currently have the kind of electricity to support such system at a stretch.

“At the initial stage, you might have those devices charged but in the long run, the battery goes down and you will need to recharge it again, such cannot function in remote areas, even in urban areas of the country, we still struggle to have electricity not to talk of the rural areas.

“It is a common understanding that he who controls your IT, controls your data so it will be easier to manipulate results if transmission will have to be done remotely and it will be collated somewhere else.

“The success of this is also largely dependent on the kind of technology they are using to secure the system been used. Summarily, I personally do not think that we are ripe for that.

Dr Adeyinka Osuolale said “in developed countries where e-voting is used, you will discover that they are under network connectivity. E-voting cannot be successful in Nigeria because most villages does not have network coverage except it will be done simultaneously with manual voting.