The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will meet with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday to finalize plans for electronic transmission of results in the 2023 general elections.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, stated this at a one-day strategic interactive meeting with line editors in Lagos State.
Yakubu went on to say that the meeting would involve the CEOs of the country’s four major telecommunications companies.
2023 Elections: INEC Releases Date For PVC Collection
Speaking about identified gaps in the country’s telecoms infrastructure, the INEC chairman stated that the commission was working with the NCC to find a solution for effective real-time transmission of results from all parts of the country.
“What the commission is doing is that we are in touch with the NCC. The NCC is the regulator of the telecoms industry in the country and we have already identified the blind spots,” he said.
“In fact, on Tuesday at 11 (am), we are going to meet with the NCC and the chief executives of the four mobile network companies to further discuss this issue of access and connectivity.
“We will find a way of dealing with this, working with the mobile network operators. The four of them: MTN, Glo, 9mobile, and Airtel.”
Block SIM Cards Without NIN – NCC Orders MTN, Glo, Airtel, Others
Yakubu stated that the commission has had two years of experience delivering real-time results from polling places, which began on August 8, 2020.
“Since 8th August, 2020, we have conducted off-cycle and by-elections for 105 constituencies and we have transmitted from all parts of the country.
“We have transmitted from rural Borno. We did so in rural Zamfara. We did so in rural Ondo, in Ilaje and Ese odo. We did so from Oporoma in Southern Ijaw in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and we have had no issues with the transmission of these results.
“But whatever the mobile network operators tell us, we will work together and ensure that we do so speedily, believing that in 2023, we are going to transmit from 176,846 locations,” he said.
Attacks On INEC Assets To Be Investigated By Reps
The INEC chairman expressed satisfaction with the commission’s pilot program.
According to him, INEC has adequate connectivity to deploy and transmit results in a general election.
Follow us on Facebook
Post Disclaimer
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author and forum participants on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Anaedo Online or official policies of the Anaedo Online.