A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Festus Okoye, has declared that every polling unit across Nigeria has internet access, dismissing concerns over network challenges as an unnecessary distraction in the ongoing debate on electronic transmission of election results.
Okoye made the assertion on Tuesday during an interview on Trust TV, monitored by DAILY POST, while weighing in on the national conversation surrounding the recent amendment to the Electoral Act by the National Assembly and its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, technological and logistical arrangements put in place by INEC are sufficient to guarantee the electronic transmission of results from polling units nationwide.
“All the INEC machines for the election come with power bank and other accessories,” he said.
Explaining further, Okoye noted that where there is temporary lack of network coverage at a polling unit, the system is designed to store the result once it is captured.
Transmission, he said, occurs automatically once the device reconnects to a network.
“Now, when elections are over, the Presiding Officer has snapped the Form EC8A and there’s no network at that particular point, it stores the information.
The moment it comes into contact with the network, it transmits immediately,” he stated.
He stressed that once the Presiding Officer inputs the result into the system, it cannot be altered while awaiting connectivity, a safeguard he believes strengthens the credibility of the process.
“So what the Presiding Officer has inputed, he cannot undo it until he gets network. This whole issue about network, I think it’s an unnecessary debate,” Okoye said.
The former commissioner was emphatic that network connectivity should no longer be cited as a barrier to electronic transmission of results.
“There’s no polling unit in this country where there’s no network. None. Forget about all these things about network connectivity. It’s just a lame excuse,” he maintained.
He also recalled that even before the introduction of the INEC Result Viewing Portal, popularly known as IReV, the commission had successfully uploaded polling unit-level results in previous elections using its digital platforms.
The debate over electronic transmission has remained a contentious issue in Nigeria’s electoral reforms, with stakeholders divided over the feasibility and reliability of nationwide connectivity.
Okoye’s comments are expected to further energise the conversation as preparations continue for future elections under the amended Electoral Act.