Laolu Akande, former spokesperson to former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) damaged its trust with Nigerians by not electronically transmitting the results of the 2023 presidential election.
Akande made the statement on Friday while appearing on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme. He said that INEC had set a standard and committed to the people of Nigeria that it would transmit the results of the election electronically.
Akande said that this decision has eroded the trust that Nigerians have in INEC. He argued that the commission should have found a way to transmit the results electronically while still addressing the security concerns.
However, the commission later backtracked on this commitment, citing security concerns.
Akande said that this decision has eroded the trust that Nigerians have in INEC. He argued that the commission should have found a way to transmit the results electronically while still addressing the security concerns.
Read also: INEC not mandated to transmit election results electronically, tribunal rules
In addition to the concerns raised by Akande, there are also other reasons why the decision by INEC not to transmit the results electronically is problematic. For example, it could lead to increased opportunities for fraud and manipulation of the results. It could also discourage people from voting, as they may believe that their votes will not be counted accurately.
Overall, the decision by INEC not to transmit the results electronically is a major blow to the credibility of elections in Nigeria. It is a decision that will have to be reviewed and rectified if the country is to make progress towards free, fair, and credible elections.
“There is no doubt about that. INEC itself set up a standard. INEC determined the guidelines. INEC committed to the people of Nigeria that this is how we are going to declare the result of this election.” Akande said.
“In fact, the chairman of INEC went abroad and said, ‘What we are going to do is that these results, when we get it, we would put it on IReV in real time.
“But guess what? When it was time for INEC to fulfill its guidelines — for certain reasons…we could talk about that– INEC failed to do what it said it would do.
“Now, it is right that if you look at the law, and I think the judges also affirmed, INEC has not really broken the law. But INEC has broken the trust of the Nigerian people.
“It is a problem for political legitimacy for people who came out of that system. So, there is a lot of cynicism, there is a lot of distrust.
“INEC is responsible for that.”
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