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E-Transmission: PDP Reps Call For Prosecution Of NCC
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus of the House of Representatives, yesterday, called for the prosecution of the head of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for allegedly lying to the country on the possibility of electronic transmission of election results.
The Leader of the Caucus, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, made the call, yesterday, in a press statement.
“It was a show of shame on the floor of the House of Representatives on Friday, July 17, 2020, during the consideration of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
“The comedy of errors started by the House stopping INEC from appearing before the House to prevent the nation from learning the truth and allowing only NCC to appear to discuss issues on the ability or otherwise of INEC to handle electronic transmission of votes.
“Officials of the NCC led by Executive Director, Ubale Maska, who represented the Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umaru Garba Danbatta, appeared and oath was administered on them consistent with Section 5 of the Legislative House (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017.
“While testifying before the House, on the adoption of electronic transmission of results from the units”, Ubale Maska claimed that the 2018 Technical Report of the NCC showed that only about “50 percent of the polling units had 3G while 49 percent had 2G network and below”.
His answers and body language clearly betrayed his intense desire to mislead the House and the nation.
“He cleverly sought to rely on 2018 data in 2021, when they knew or ought to know that Internet penetration has advanced substantially in Nigeria since 2018.
“Indeed, a perusal of NCC Website even today shows that the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 (P.33) says that by September, 2019, the “Spread of 3G/LTE” had reached 74.2 percent in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, MTN recently announced that they have achieved extensive nationwide network coverage of 89.9 percent. This is just MTN, not to talk of other Networks.
“Perhaps, the worst form of perfidy, deception and outright lies is for NCC to hide the Memorandum of Understanding between NCC and INEC in 2019.
“During preparations for the 2019 general election, INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had in January, 2018, visited the NCC to discuss collaboration that would enhance the electoral process.
“A joint technical committee of INEC and NCC was subsequently formed with a mandate to map out strategies that would reduce human interventions in the transmission of election results. The committee was headed by Maska and co-chaired by Muhammed Lecky, an INEC national commissioner.
“After several meetings and engagements, it was then recommended that the INEC/NCC joint technical committee should consider and adopt the traditional data communication service from MNOs using APN as the most appropriate solution for the electronic transmission of election results”, he stated.
According to him, “The icing on the cake is the categorical declaration by INEC through Festus Okoye, their spokesman that INEC has the capacity to transmit election results from any part of the country, no matter the terrain has put the final nail on the coffin of the purveyors of the fallacy that it cannot be done. Electronic transmission has recently been deployed by INEC in Edo, Ondo, Borno, Kaduna elections etc.
“It is obvious that there are Fifth Columnists and anti-democratic elements who are afraid of a free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
“For a witness to be sworn under Section 5 of the Legislative House (Powers and Privileges) Act 2017, then, proceed to lie under oath and give false evidence to the House is an offence under Section 7 of the same Act. We call on the prosecuting authorities to immediately arrest the officials of the NCC, under Danbatta and all those who procured Ubale Maska and other officials to lie under oath to be criminally investigated and where found culpable, be brought to justice by standing criminal trial.
“We must maintain the integrity of our laws and sanctity of our institutions as a nation.
“On Friday, Maska, was asked about the possibility of hacking INEC’s electronic transmission system; if the NCC has ever done a coverage analysis of the entire country; if it is possible to upload election result where there is not network like online registrations and bank service; if NIGCOMSAT can deploy a satellite that covers the entire country and provide services for polls; if Unstructured Supplementary Service Data can work.
“Maska partly said, ‘The first question as to whether the commission has done an analysis of network coverage nationwide, especially captured and un-captured, which I prefer to mean served or un-served areas, and this can be broken down into states, I must say here that, yes, we have this data. We have it nationwide, we have it on a state basis and we have even on the basis of service whether it is 2G, 3G or 4G or LTE. We have all these analyses’.
“We did an analysis of network coverage in 2018 in respect of all polling units in the country. We found out we had about 119,000; we were able to get the coordinates of about 109,000 and we plotted across the map of the country. We superimposed the network coverage with that of service providers.
“We plotted 2G, 3G and (4G) LTE coverage. We were able to see that about half of the polling units were covered with 2G/3G services, roughly about 50.3 per cent. Then, about 49.7 did not have any coverage; they had only 2G, and about 8000 polling units had none at all.”
When asked if results could be transmitted via a 2G network, the NCC official said INEC was the appropriate authority to answer the question.
“From a personal standpoint; from what I could tell from what is required, it is only 3G that could give that kind of transmission in full,” he added.
On hacking, Maska said, “I’m sure it is open knowledge to us here that there is no system that is safe from hacking. You can do your best to secure it but no system is 100 per cent hack-free. I’m sure members would have read about the elections in the United States in 2016 and the widespread belief that the election was hacked by the Russians. Every day you read about hackers breaking into banks, insurance companies and other industries. So, hacking is always a possibility.”
About offline capturing of data, the NCC official said, “This is possible. It is possible that in an area that is not covered, you could record it and then physically move to another location. But, you cannot guarantee this kind of movement. It does not compare with direct transmission from the source.”
Maska, however, said he could not comment on NIGCOMSAT and its satellites.
The governor has also pledged to upgrade the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Bille with a view to addressing the health challenges confronting the community.
Fubara made the pledge on Wednesday at the Government House, Port Harcourt during an enlarged meeting of key stakeholders, comprising representatives of the Federal Government, the state government and leaders of the community.
The meeting was held to review the situation in the community and explore available opportunities to save the people from the adverse impacts of environmental pollution.
Addressing the journalists at the end of the meeting, the governor acknowledged the determination of the Federal Government and its agencies to get to the root cause of the problem in Bille and ensure that it is resolved permanently.
“The meeting is in respect of the situation in Bille. You’re aware that there is a case of gas leakage somewhere in Bille and the people have been making some requests that the government should come to their rescue to resolve the situation.
“As a state, we have gone to see the situation in the community, not alone but in conjunction with the industry operators and officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. What we are doing today is an enlarged meeting where all the parties are sitting together to look at the cause of the issue and the most possible way to get the problem resolved,” he said.
Fubara described the outcome of the meeting as successful, stressing that more action would be taken in the next couple of weeks to ensure that the issue is fully resolved.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, who led the Federal Government’s delegation to the meeting, expressed appreciation to the governor for his warm hospitality and efforts to address the challenge in Bille community.
Ekpo explained that contrary to the perception in certain quarters, the Federal Government has not been silent over the “gas seepage” but has been working tirelessly towards finding a sustainable solution.
The minister explained that as soon as the incident was reported, the Federal Government deployed experts to the area to understudy the cause of the problem.
According to him, it was difficult at first to understand the cause of the problem since there were no oil or gas infrastructure within the vicinity of the incident, hence the need to conduct a more detailed investigation.
“The investigation is still going but we decided to do a follow-up visit to the area to talk to the people of Bille Community that we need collaboration on their part so that we would be able to arrive at a lasting solution.
“The safety of the people is paramount. We can understand their anxiety, the worry and the danger that this thing poses within the area, but the Federal Government is committed to finding a lasting solution to the problem. The primary responsibility of government is to take care of the welfare and security of the people and that is exactly why we are here to go and see things for ourselves,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, also explained that as the regulatory agency at the centre of the issue, no effort will be spared in the task of resolving the issue.
Eyesan pledged that the NUPRC and operators in the industry were prepared to address the requests of the impacted people in terms of the provision of potable water and fire trucks to the community.
The Public Relations Officer, Council of Chiefs, Bille Kingdom, Chief Rena Dappa, had during the meeting, presented the challenges facing the community and pleaded for government’s support to save the lives and livelihoods of the people.
The President stated that the scheme is aimed at creating jobs, closing the country’s metering gap and improving electricity supply.
The President disclosed this in a statement on his verified X handle yesterday, describing the initiative, tagged “The Power Force,” as part of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to expand employment opportunities for young people.
According to Tinubu, the programme will equip participants with practical technical skills and connect them to employment opportunities in Nigeria’s power sector.
“Through the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), which I established to close Nigeria’s metering gap, end estimated billing, protect consumers and strengthen the electricity market, we are opening a new pathway for 5,000 young Nigerians to be trained as meter installers and technicians under The Power Force. This programme is about jobs, skills and dignity,” he said.
Tinubu said the training would be open to eligible Nigerians who have completed their secondary school education, with a dedicated quota reserved for members of the National Youth Service Corps.
He noted that expanding electricity metering was critical to improving service delivery and promoting transparency in the power sector.
“When homes and businesses are properly metered, Nigerians can pay for what they actually use. When electricity distribution companies collect revenues more transparently and fairly, they are better able to reduce losses, maintain infrastructure, expand connections and invest in better service.
“This is how we build a power sector that is fairer to consumers, stronger for investors and better able to deliver reliable electricity to the Nigerian people,” the President said.
Tinubu said he had directed the Presidential Metering Initiative to work with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, and other relevant stakeholders to commence the programme within the next 30 days.
He encouraged qualified young Nigerians to apply, saying the initiative would provide them with marketable skills while supporting efforts to eliminate estimated billing and improve electricity access nationwide.
“I encourage eligible young Nigerians to apply. Join The Power Force. Learn a skill. Earn with dignity. Help us end estimated billing and be part of the work to light up Nigeria,” he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday by its spokesperson, Mr Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa.
According to the ministry, the Air Peace-operated flight is expected to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at about 5:30 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026.
It said the evacuation is part of the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to facilitate the voluntary return of Nigerians from South Africa.
“The third evacuation flight operated by Air Peace will depart Johannesburg today by 12 midnight with 271 returnees. The estimated time of arrival in Lagos is 5:30 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026,” the statement read.
The latest batch of returnees follows earlier evacuation flights that brought hundreds of Nigerians back to the country under the Federal Government’s voluntary repatriation programme.
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