The Social Democratic Party (SDP) Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam has stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no capacity to operate electronic transmission of results from the polling units to collation centres.
The party also warned politicians to desist from making statements capable of plugging the country into electoral crisis.
National Secretary SDP Malam Shehu Gabam who said this in Abuja argued that the epileptic supply of power as well as poor service by service providers across the country would make electronic transmission of results more difficult to be achieved.
He added that the high level of illiteracy in the country and lack of sensitisation of voters by the government and INEC would mar the exercise.
The party scribe who spoke in Abuja while reacting to some national issues noted that the issue of inclusion of electronic transmission of results in the electoral amendment is a critical issue that needed to be carefully discussed and resolved by the stakeholders.
Gabam noted that any attempt to force the electronic transmission of results in the electoral act in the next election would plung the country into electoral crisis, maintaining that the country’s democracy is not yet ripe for such policy.
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to continue to test run it as a pilot scheme in states until the country is technically mature for it.
He said, “So far, INEC has not demonstrated that they have the capacity to do it . It is very complicated than what people think, people are ignorant about it and are sponsoring protest without understanding it. It has to do with effective service in the country.
“In the absence of energy and good service network, how are you going to transmit. If you say that you are going to transmit results from polling units, even in Abuja, it will be difficult for you to do. There is no power and service, do they have the gadgets and equipment that can store power for 48 hours, in the absence of these , we are not sincere.
“We don’t have the capacity to do it. Even the United States that is practising it is suffering from hackers, INEC today is suffering from hackers. So, I think that INEC should keep on practising it as a pilot scheme just as they did in Edo and Ondo elections until we have the capacity,” Gabam said.
On the call by the southern governor’s for power shift to the south in 2023, Alhaji Gabam warned the governors to refrain from overheating the polity by making reckless statements.
