Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a well-known Islamic cleric, has praised the Nigerian Senate’s decision to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit election results.
He urged INEC to “immediately embark on a voter’s awareness campaign, which should include rural areas, with the collaboration of NGOs.”
Gumi claimed in a Facebook post that the news of e-transmission, which could be implemented in the 2023 elections, will reduce rigging. Furthermore, Gumi believes that electronic transmission of election results will reduce mediocrity among Nigerian leaders.
“We haven’t heard better good news for Nigerians since 1999 when the khaki returned to the barracks,” Gumi says, “than this singular act of making it legal to transmit election results electronically.”
The funding and implementation, on the other hand, remain to be seen. “However, this will have no incalculable impact on rigging and vote manipulation, which are the only ways that bad politicians have been able to keep the nation at its jugular veins for so long.” By ensuring that every vote is counted, money politics, mediocrity, and political blackmail will all be eradicated, or nearly so. This is a significant victory for our Senate and the democracy that allows Nigerians to freely choose and reject leaders.
“INEC must immediately launch a voter education campaign, which should include rural areas, with the help of NGOs. With satellite internet technology perfected and available, the election should be able to reach every inch of Nigerian soil. “There are numerous technical issues involved, but nothing is insurmountable when considering the experience of countries such as India, which has nearly 800 million voters.”
We’ve been advocating for this since early 2015, when we held a conference in Gamji Hall in Kaduna with representatives from INEC, the PDP, and the APC under the auspices of the ‘MY CHOICE MY PRIDE FOUNDATION.’ Engr. Buba Galadima, for example, delivered a speech on behalf of the APC. It was memorable, and we are relieved that some semblance of free and fair elections is now on the horizon, allowing us to bid farewell to bad governance.
