Nigerians are enjoined to ensure that they mount pressure on the 109 senators of the federal republic of Nigeria to return back to their legislative duty and vote for electronic transfer of election results.
The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Fouad Oki said this on the Channels television programme Sunrise, maintaining the duty of lawmakers was to reflect the desire of the Nigerian people.
He said he was disappointed at Nigerians who in their interface with the lawmakers, prioritized their personal welfare for the season, by demanding Sallah gifts, as against electronic transmission of the result.
He said the major change that will deepen Nigeria’s democracy was the electronic transmission of results which would eliminate all doubts where so entertained on an election outcome.
His words: “Electronic transmission of result is what can deepen our democracy, let people know, let the World know, that from polling unit XYZ in Kaura Nomoda, this was the vote. That will eliminate the result compromise of electoral violence.
“Some of our politicians know that for us to set this country free, for us to allow this country to develop politically, we have no choice but to allow electronic transmission of the result.
“It will save us a lot of things, now, talking about what will be the outcome of the conference session, I will tell you for free, unless Nigerians exert pressure on their senators, what you will see, is what happened with the PIB.
“A situation where a man who laid the report of his committee, jettisoned his report at the committee of the whole and voted otherwise.
“That is what you will see, the Senate will have its ways unless Nigerians raise up to say no! Electronic transmission of results is what we want.
“If Nigerians do not come out and put pressure on their senators that is what would happen. They will throw the transmission of election results overboard in order to have their ways.
“Talking of other things that may help us as a people is to tell our parties, that in subsequent elections if you do not open up space and allow democratic ethos to operate, this is what we will do.
“I would want to urge all Nigerians to leave the Sallah meat, take back your Sallah meat and give back the electronic transmission of the election results and that is the way to go,” he said.
The national assembly has recently voted a no, on electronic results being transmitted by electronic means over its claim of the lack of capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, INEC National Commissioner of Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye said that the commission has the capacity to transmit elections electronically from across the country.