By Nwaorgu Faustinus
PORT HHARCOURT/Nigeria: A seasoned media practitioner and President of the Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative, Chief Christie Obiaruko Ndukwe, has thrown her weight behind the ongoing national debate on electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission Result Viewing Portal (iReV), insisting that credibility, not technology alone, should drive electoral reforms.
Chief Obiaruko made her position known in a Facebook post, where she declared support for e-transmission of results, provided it delivers a minimum of 80 per cent accuracy without manipulation of figures, citing alleged irregularities witnessed during elections in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.
“I am for E-Transmission of results to the INEC iReV as long as we can get 80 per cent accuracy without forced manipulation of the figures as we saw at Obingwa Local Government of Abia State,” she stated.
According to her, the core challenge is not the transmission itself but the integrity of the data being transmitted. She argued that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is designed to produce accurate accreditation figures and actual votes, warning against scenarios where accredited voters exceed registered voters at polling unit, ward or local government levels.
Chief Obiaruko further alleged that INEC possesses the capacity to disable network connectivity in real time, thereby preventing prompt upload of results, noting that such actions, where they occur, are not adequately punished under existing laws.
“The laws have always been there, but the problem is the lack of implementation. To me, that is deliberate sabotage. Every technical system can be sabotaged,” she said.
She also drew parallels with repeated attacks on the national power grid by insurgents and terrorists, raising concerns about systemic or deliberate disruptions to electoral technology. In such cases, she argued, alternative mechanisms must be clearly defined.
The media practitioner further warned of cyber threats, claiming that hackers have repeatedly attempted to breach the INEC server, a development she said underscores the need for robust legal and technical safeguards.
To address these concerns, Chief Obiaruko urged the National Assembly of Nigeria to amend the Electoral Act to explicitly provide for “electronic transmission in real time or transfer of results,” depending on the peculiar challenges in different locations.
She also expressed hope that the ongoing legislative harmonisation process would be handled transparently, stressing that decisions reached through clear voting, rather than voice votes, would strengthen public confidence.
Reacting to her post, Azubuike Peterside Oweguom cautioned that the use of the word “transfer” could still create room for manipulation by political actors or the electoral body.
According to him, outright cancellation and rerun of elections wherever network glitches occur would be a more credible option, warning against a repeat of controversies similar to the 2023 presidential election experience in Rivers State, where he said the will of the electorate was undermined.
The debate adds to growing public calls for far-reaching reforms to Nigeria’s electoral process, with stakeholders insisting that transparency, enforcement and accountability must accompany any technological innovation.
