An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Abiodun Ajiboye, has argued that Nigeria lacks the capacity and infrastructure required for real-time electronic transmission of election results.
Ajiboye made the assertion while speaking on ARISE TV on Monday, February 9, monitored by The News Chronicle, insisting that the country’s electoral process remains heavily dependent on manual procedures.
According to him, electronic transmission cannot seamlessly coexist with manual voting and collation.
“Transmitting election results electronically is tied to the manner of voting. If voting and collation are done manually, how do you then transmit results in real time? It is simply not possible. Even if we want to do it, we cannot afford it,” he said.
Ajiboye questioned Nigeria’s technological preparedness, raising concerns over telecommunications capacity and electricity supply across the country.
“Do telecom operators even have the capability? Do we have sufficient electricity to shoulder such a responsibility? Many rural communities don’t even have network coverage or power,” he added.
He further cited security concerns, recalling that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) servers were allegedly attacked over one million times during the last general election.
“What is being proposed is to expose the entire electoral process to hijackers, which could create massive confusion. That is the danger I see in what is being pushed,” Ajiboye warned.
Emphasising the centrality of manual processes, he noted that votes are counted at polling units, verified by party agents, and documented before any further action.
“After voting, the results are counted at the polling unit, party agents sign the result sheets, and those documents can then be scanned and transmitted in any manner,” he said.
Ajiboye maintained that Nigeria is not yet capable of conducting electronic voting or transmitting results in real time, urging lawmakers to exercise caution.
“A country can only do what it is capable of doing. Nigeria currently has no capacity for electronic voting or real-time transmission. Even the United States does not practice real-time transmission,” he stated.
He warned that pushing such reforms prematurely could disenfranchise rural voters and destabilise the electoral process.
“Some communities lack basic telecom services and electricity. Forcing this process will disenfranchise many Nigerians. Technologically, it is not feasible. Lawmakers should stop stampeding the National Assembly into a decision that could throw the entire system into chaos,” Ajiboye said.
