Johnchuks Onuanyim 
The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday expressed concern over the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit the 2023 general elections electronically. The APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu gave the concern when the Commonwealth Delegation for the 2023 general election paid a visit to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja. According to Adamu, the power situation in Nigeria cannot guarantee the use of electricity to transmit election results; therefore the INEC should reconsider its decision.
Also the National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Suleiman Argungun said that mobile networks in his state, Kebbi, cannot guarantee electronic voting. Argungun said: “As a rider to what the National Chairman just said about INEC transmitting results directly during the coming election, apart from the issue of electricity that is unstable, a lot of the villages and communities bordering other countries for instance my state Kebbi that is bordering two nations during the previous elections the network of Nigeria for all the networks, Glo, MTN, Airtel you can’t get them. If you want to get them you have to use the numb
er of the other countries to reach them. So, during the election I don’t see how transmission of results will work. I see it coming.” The leader of the Commonwealth delegation, Lindiwe Maleleka, who is the political adviser, Commonwealth Secretariat, in his presentation had said: “We note the reforms that have been introduced in the lead up to this election: the electoral act, 2022, the new technologies which were introduced and I believe was tested in the Osun and Ekiti elections. We want to get your views about the new reforms in the build up to the next general elections because we are aware it will be rolled out for the election in February.”
