The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has faulted the National Assembly’s (NASS) claim on electronic transmission of results, saying it has the capacity to do so from remote areas across the country.
Recall NASS had passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021, constraining INEC to seek permission from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and the National Assembly before employing electronic voting in any part of the country.
Relatedly, the NCC had told lawmakers at the House of Representatives on Friday that only 50 percent of the country has the 3G coverage required for transmission.
However, INEC’s Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye while speaking on ChannelsTV breakfast show on Saturday, said the assertions by NASS and NCC were not true.
“We have uploaded results from very remote areas, even from areas where you have to use human carriers to access.
“So, we have made our own position very clear, that we have the capacity and we have the will to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process.
“But our powers are given by the constitution and the law, and we will continue to remain within the ambit and confines of the power granted to the commission by the constitution and the law,” Okoye said.
Qed
