INEC bars journalists from presentation of e-voting machine

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, barred journalists from covering the official presentation of electronic voting machine to the commission by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu.

The solar powered electronic voting machine, which was developed by the National Agency of Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), an agency under the supervision of Dr Onu, was to address the numerous challenges bedeviling Nigeria during the general elections.

When journalists arrived the main entrance of the commission at about 10:45 a.m, the security operatives at the gate said the order has come ‘from above’ that there would not be media coverage for the presentation.

It was, however, reliably gathered that the commission was being careful before making any statement or its decision and observation known to the Nigerian populace without proper examination of the machine.

Informed INEC source further told the Nigerian Tribune that the commission did not want to commit itself on the project and later disappoint electorates during both the registration exercise and election proper, hence, the need to study and examine it very well before making its submission known to the general public.

It will be recalled that the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Professor Muhammed Sani, during the recent visit of the Minister, Dr Onu to the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, announced that the existing INEC Permanent Voter’s Card has been adopted for the use of new e-voting equipment.

The minister also, during the visit, promised that multiple voting could no longer take place any more in Nigeria, following the development of electronic voting machine by NASENI, as the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was making frantic efforts to ensure that the country, through NASENI, was able to produce many of the equipment and machines ‎that are currently being imported to Nigeria