Politics
Orbih Harps On Electronic Transfer Of Election Results
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South South has called on the National Assembly to retain electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act
National Vice Chairman, South South of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, made the call on Wednesday in an interview with newsmen in Benin.
He was reacting to the purported removal of the electronic transfer of result provision from the proposed amendment Act currently being debated by the National Assembly.
“Nigerians should resist the removal of electronics transmission of election results during elections from the electoral Act because it is an invitation to unending electoral fraud.’’
Orbih noted that the introduction of electronic transmission of election results from the polling units to collation centres during elections was introduced by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to halt result manipulation during elections.
He noted that the initiative was well applauded by all concerned, as over the years Nigerians had been concerned about elections being free and fair in the country.
“It seems that at the moment some people have started saying oh, it will be difficult to manipulate the electoral process if the electronic transmission of results is allowed to remain in the electoral Act.
“Some of our leaders who know they have not done well to win back the confidence of Nigerians through the ballot box are now against electronic transmission of results.
“If you ask them, why they are opposed to it, they will not give you any reasonable answer other than this fear of eradicating possible manipulation of results during the elections.
“So for me, I think everything should be done to ensure that the clause is not removed from the electoral Act.
“Everything should be done to improve our electoral system so that people will have the confidence that their votes will count on election day.
“This to a large extent will help us eliminate the manipulation of results in elections in Nigeria.
“Doing that, we will be strengthening our democratic process and improving the electoral process itself,” he said.
The South South leader also said that leaving the jurisdiction of electoral matters solely on the Federal High Court would not be the best for the country.
He noted that most of the election cases were time bound, and must be disposed off within a very short period of time.
“So when you restrict this challenge to Federal High Courts alone, I’m afraid we may have lots of cases just waiting for the Federal High Courts to decide within the short period that they must be taken care of.
“With this scenario, it means even pre-election matters should go to the Federal High Courts. Honestly I don’t know how that will help our system,” Orbih said.
On the gale of defections from the party by some members, Orbih said that selfish interest on the part of those leaving the party was responsible.
According to him, there is no basis for them leaving the party except for selfish and personal gains.
“Those who are leaving us are those who have something to hide and are looking for where to hide.
“They are those who have personal interest not for the good of all, but personal interest to promote and protect.
“I want to borrow the now famous saying of Gov. Nyesom Wike, “that there is no justification for any person to leave hope for hopelessness”.
The South South leader further faulted the proposed 30 per cent for exploration in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
According to him, I have never seen anything in practical terms to capture the wise saying that you cannot rob Peter to pay Paul than this PIB.
“It shows the long term marginalisation of the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta.
“It shows the obvious wickedness of our leaders to continue to deny them adequate compensation over challenges arising from the drilling of oil in these communities”.
He stressed that the agitation of the people of the region had always been over the damage from oil prospecting and processes done to their lands.
“Some of their lands are no longer fertile for agriculture; most of their fish farms can no longer survive the fallout of these processes.
“To know that they don’t have any special compensation for having the land where the wealth of the Nation’s comes from shows clearly that our leaders are insensitive to what these people are going through.
“And now you are saying, you want to take 30 per cent of our oil revenue for exploration in the desert land where nobody has come to tell us whether that oil had been struck, and even if there is whether they are economically viable.
“The ones that were discovered in the Niger Delta, did they take a percentage of our National income to develop them.
“Companies that discovered the viability of these wells paid their fees to be allowed to carry out their businesses.
“So, why are you now taking a percentage to go and develop fields in areas not yet confirmed to even have oil, and you are allocating just three per cent to the producing communities?
“It does not make any sense,” Orbih added
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”
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