A foremost writer and activist, Chike Nnamani, has called for a sustained national protest by democracy activists and well-meaning Nigerians against the Senate's rejection of a Bill seeking to make mandatory the electronic transmission of election results from Polling Units (PUs) to INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, claiming that it poses a threat to credible polls in 2027.
Nnamani, who spoke shortly after today's protest in the National Assembly, Abuja, claimed that the ruling APC government was planning to re-enact the 2023 election template whereby the INEC server magically went down in the middle of an election and, real-time transmission not backed by law, shortchanged the wills of Nigerians.
He said that the purpose Nigerians are seeking for it to be made mandatory in law, was to prevent such magical server downtime by INEC since they would not any other option than using it to authenticate the election results.
He noted that previous administrations have implemented key reforms in the electoral system and wondered why the present ruling party which boasts of having 30 State Governors and majority of National Assembly members are still afraid of free, fair and credible elections.
Going down the memory lane, Nnamani recalled that following the outcry against the 2007 election, the gentleman Yar'adua inaugurated the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Committee. Unfortunately that administration did not live long because of Yar'adua's death, but his successor, Jonathan, came in and implemented some recommendations of that Committee which include the introduction of a Smart Card Reading (SCR) machine for verification and accreditation of voters.
Furthermore, Muhammadu Buhari, at the twilight of his administration upgraded this accreditation system with the introduction of the Bimodal Verification System (BVAS) which not only authentic voters through biometric data, but can scan the EC8A Form and transmit real-time election results from PUs to IReV portal
Nnamani concluded by urging Nigerians, especially the opposition political parties, to be vigilant, alert, and always ready to confront any subterfuge by the ruling party to shortchange the wills of the electorates ahead of the 2027 general election.
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