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APC accuses PDP of plot to sabotage Card Readers

FROM the streets and the court rooms, the battle against the Card Reader is set to move into another realm – technology.

The independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) insists the Card Reader will make the March 28 and April 11 elections credible as it will, among others, fasten and smoothen accreditation.

But the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejects the machine, saying little is known about its workings.

Amid the arguments, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which supports the use of the Card Reader, is accusing the President Goodluck Jonathan administration and the PDP of planning to jam the machine on voting day.

For the job, said the APC, an Israeli has been hired.

He, according to the party, has developed three prototype Card Reader jammers (25 metres, 50 metres and 100 metres range) to be carried in the pockets of trusted PDP chiefs on election day to disable Card Readers.

It is all to justify the PDP’s fears about the Card Reader, the APC said.

‘’We can authoritatively inform Nigerians that the morbid fear of card readers by the Jonathan Administration and the PDP has now been translated into concrete action: They have hired an Israeli to do the dirty job of jamming the card readers,’’ the party said in a statement issued yesterday in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

‘’To those who might accuse us of crying wolf, they should realise that every alarm we have raised in the past has been true, including that the Jonathan Administration was pushing for the postponement of

the elections and that they are mortally afraid of the use of PVCs and card readers.”

APC said besides disabling the card readers, the jammers will also disable all telephones, iPads, etc within the states radius of those carrying them on their persons.

It said an order had been placed for 75,000 pieces of the jammers at $ 200 per piece, bringing the total cost to $15 million. The jammers will be air freighted to Nigeria next week, said the APC.

‘’The plan is to deploy the card jammers to the areas deemed to be the strongholds of the APC, such as the North-west, Northeast, North-central and the South-west.

‘’It is the planned procurement of the jammers that has given the confidence to the Administration and party officials to continuously boast that Buhari will never rule Nigeria, and also the reason why a chieftain of the PDP boasted last week that the card readers won’t work, thus advising INEC to make alternative arrangements,’’ the APC said.

The party said the Israeli, who has agreed to do the dirty job for a desperate Jonathan Administration and the PDP, is an enemy of Nigeria and Nigerians, who does not mind if the nation burns, as long as he has collected his pay.

It said because the opposition party has become a movement which is being propelled by the people themselves, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the Jonathan sdministration and the PDP to succeed in

their devilish intentions of rigging, sabotaging or scuttling the elections.

‘’We have consistently said power resides in the people, irrespective of what the government of the day might think. When the people are determined to vote out any government, no amount of money, evil plots and shenanigans can save that government, as the Jonathan Administration will find out in two weeks,’’ APC said.

The PDP denied it all as “false alarms aimed at throwing the polity into chaos and wreck the electoral process”.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh also accused the opposition of engaging in a “dangerous mind game”.

The PDP accused APC of “using wild allegations in a bid to cause panic, balkanise the nation and create the way for a reign of anarchy in the country”.

The statement went on: “For the APC, it has become a matter of ‘if we can’t have it, then let’s destroy it’. In the last couple of weeks, this opposition party and its leaders have engaged in dishing out dangerous false alarms in a bid to discredit the electoral process, heighten tension, create fear in the minds of the people and push the polity to the brinks.

The PDP described as false alarm the reported plot to kill the leader of the opposition, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, presidential standard bearer, General Muhammadu Buhari.

“Also, on the same March 15, the APC, in a yet another statement, falsely claimed that the Federal Government paid N9 billion to ethnic militias to foment trouble, before, during and after the general elections. This was immediately followed by a release on Monday, March 16, in which the opposition, in their unrelenting effort to further discredit the process, alleged that the Federal Government has hired an Israeli expert, Gyora Berger, to sabotage card readers on election day.

“In the same vein, on March 4, 2015, the APC released a false alarm, claiming that there were plots by the Federal Government to frame its leaders and … sensitive INEC officials and manipulate the electoral process. This is in addition to another statement on March 9 in which it alleged plots to harass its financiers and cripple its operations ahead of elections.

“We are aware that the APC has lined up many of such false allegations and nuisance alarms, which would be methodologically released to the public to swell the tension as the elections draw nearer.”

The PDP charged its members to remain focused on the campaigns and not to allow themselves to be distracted, saying the party enjoys the support and confidence of majority of Nigerians.

The party said it was committed to issue driven campaigns, adding that it would leverage on the “enviable records” of achievements of the standard bearer, President Goodluck Jonathan, “for which Nigerians are determined to give him a deserving second chance”.

March 17, 2015
INEC sure of Card Readers

There seems to be no going back on the use of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) in the general elections.

Independent National Electoral Commission has invited all political parties for a session on the machines, which it insists will check rigging and improve efficiency.

Ahead of the session, the electoral commission last night said it was satisfied that the SCRs will add tremendous transparency and credibility to accreditation on Election Day.

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is said to be mobilising smaller parties for a protest against the SCRs at tomorrow’s meeting.

The plot to “create a scene” in INEC was uncovered last night.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “INEC will meet with all the political parties on Thursday to make its position known, that it will not go back on SCRs.

“The commission will, however, use the session to get more input from the parties on how the SCRs can be successfully deployed for the general election.

“INEC will also present the outcome of the mock election conducted in 12 states to the political parties.”

But it was learnt that the meeting might be a stormy session because PDP is mobilising smaller parties to protest against INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega over card readers.

Another source said: “The PDP is poised for a showdown with INEC and Jega over the use of Card Readers. The party and 15 others have plotted a script to “create a scene” on Thursday.

“They are set to disrupt the meeting between Jega and political parties.

“Alternatively, they might seek a court injunction to restrain INEC from using Card Readers. There are four suits in court against the use of Card Readers and they are banking on a frivolous injunction to frustrate INEC.

“The PDP and 15 others are planning this protest, in spite of the fact that they have received legal advice that Card Readers do not violate the Electoral Act.”

INEC yesterday said it was satisfied with the adoption of SCRs for the general elections.

The commission, in a statement through the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, said the Card Readers will ensure transparency and credibility of the accreditation for the general elections.

The statement said: “INEC is satisfied that the use of SCRs in the 2015 general elections will add tremendous transparency and credibility to the accreditation process on Election Day.

“The Commission hereby reassures the public that it will do everything necessary to ensure that the processes of the elections are seamless, free, fair, credible and peaceful.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday, 09th March 2015, met to consider field reports from the public demonstration of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) conducted in 12 states on Saturday, March 07th 2015.

“The states were Rivers and Delta (Southsouth), Kano and Kebbi (Northwest), Anambra and Ebonyi (Southeast), Ekiti and Lagos (Southwest), Bauchi and Taraba (Northeast) as well as Niger and Nasarawa (Northcentral).

On the mock election last Saturday, the commission said about 59 per cent of the voters had their fingerprints successfully authenticated.

It, however, promised to correct all lapses before the general election.

The statement added: “Overall, 59% of voters who turned out for the demonstration had their fingerprints successfully authenticated.

“ But the Commission, in agreement with registered political parties, had provided in the approved Guidelines for the conduct of the 2015 elections that where biometric authentication of a legitimate holder of a genuine PVC becomes challenging, there could be physical authentication of the person and completion of an Incident Form, to allow the person to vote.

“The Commission nevertheless took a serious view of the high rate of the SCRs’ failure to authenticate voters’ fingerprints in some areas, particularly in Ebonyi State, and has decided to thoroughly investigate the cause; as well as repeat the public demonstration in that state.

“This demonstration will be conducted in the particular Registration Area involved in the last exercise, namely Izzi Unuhu (Abakaliki Local Government Area); as well as in Ibii/Oziza Registration Area (Afikpo North LGA). The repeat demonstration will be on Saturday, March 14th 2015.”

INEC explained four reasons behind the adoption of the SCRs.

It said: “The Commission observed that its decision to deploy SCRs for the 2015 general elections have FOUR main objectives, namely:

•To verify Permanent Voter cards (PVCs) presented by voters at polling units and ensure that they are genuine, INEC-issued (not cloned) cards. From the reports on Saturday’s exercise, this objective was achieved 100 per cent.

•To biometrically authenticate the person who presents a PVC at the polling unit and ensure that he/she is the legitimate holder of the card. In this regard, there were a few issues in some states during the public demonstration.

•The SCRs provide disaggregated data of accredited voters in male/female and elderly/youth categories – a disaggregation that is vital for research and planning purposes, but which INEC until now had been unable to achieve. The demonstration on Saturday fully served this objective.

•The SCR sends the data of all accredited voters to INEC’s central server, equipping the Commission to be able to audit figures subsequently filed by polling officials at the PU and, thereby, be able to determine if fraudulent alterations were made. The public demonstration also succeeded wholly in this regard.

March 11, 2015
Card readers won

•PDP has no choice but to accept this viable authentication process

t is uncanny that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now shamelessly acts like a minnow, a small opposition party that fears a crushing defeat before a major election. There cannot be any other fathomable reason why the party seems bent on shoving a cog in the smooth conduct of the 2015 general elections.

Following last Saturday’s successful test-run of the card readers in select parts of the country, the leadership of the PDP has swung to action, bent on scuttling its use in the forthcoming elections. The party had been strident in canvassing against the use of the card readers for sometime up until eventual test-run. Apart from minor hitches, the test carried out in 12 states across the six zones of the country recorded over 90 per cent success. The PDP has turned itself into an island of deviance and antiquity by standing against progressive technology. Yet, critical stakeholders in the country like civil society groups and opinion leaders have applauded the exercise, except PDP.

Is it not the Jonathan administration that introduced new technology to banking and other government activities? Why is the same government shrinking like a beleagured man in the face of progess?

The card reader is a handy electronic device which main use in the voting process is to authenticate the voters’ cards. Just like any point of sale terminal (PoS) each voter’s identity will be verified against the permanent voter’s card he or she presents. It is a simple process of verification and identification (and accreditation) before the voting proper.

What this means is that the card reader will eliminate multiple voting to almost zero level, thus cutting off a major source of election rigging. It is a simple technology that has been used in Ghana and Kenya and its most significant advantage is that it allows people’s votes to count. For those who are apprehensive about stable power to recharge it, being a hand-held device, its power requirement is almost insignificant and it works both on and off line. After all, the card reader is neither partial nor partisan.

What is the PDP afraid of? Is it that the card reader also has the added advantage of storing the vital information of the number of accredited voters in a polling unit which is posted immediately to the mother data base at the INEC head office? This means that over-voting is eliminated as total number of eventual votes can be matched against the number of voters accredited.

The benefits of upgrading and migrating to an improved and technologically superior voting process cannot be over-emphasised and one would expect every Nigerian of goodwill not only to embrace it but to encourage its actualisation. In today’s electronic world that ruling party leaders in Nigeria would prefer yesterday’s style, a mere laminated cards (temporary voters cards, TVCs)that have no authenticating feature whatsoever is suspect and reeks of bad faith at best, and mischief and fear at worse.

It is noteworthy that it was the PDP that forced the postponement of the 2015 elections from February (14 and 28) to March 28 and April 11 under the guise that security could not be guaranteed. But analysts are now vindicated that the move was because PDP feared a resounding defeat from the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.

No sooner was the postponement secured than the PDP started a vicious campaign of paranoia to sack Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of INEC. Were it not for the alarm raised by the opposition, Prof. Jega would have been sent on wrongful pre-retirement leave notwithstanding that his office is a tenured appointment that does not require such exit procedure. They may still be nursing some insidious mischief to sack Jega.

In order to make Prof. Jega’s removal look good, the PDP had for nearly one month –between mid-February to early March – unleashed a barrage of media lampoons on the electoral umpire. Through paid adverts, interviews, opinions and commentaries he has been vilified, abused and accused in a most vile and irresponsible way of ethnic bias and even fraudulent acts.

Ironically, it is the ruling party administration which appointed the INEC chairman and all the national commissioners and all the resident electoral commissioners. It is the bulk of this team that conducted elections four years ago in which President Goodluck Jonathan and all the elected officers of state were ushered to power. That election was acclaimed by all, including foreign election observers. At what point did Jega and his team go ‘bad’?

Since the attempt to discredit Prof. Jega in order to sack him failed, other plots are being activated. Apart from the outright rejection of the use of the card readers which of course will throw the process into disarray if not torpedo it, there seems to be a few more invidious schemes in the bag of PDP.

Just a few days ago, a strange new party known as Young Democratic Party (YDP) was through curious legalistic instrument imposed on INEC to be registered and allowed to contest in the elections that are a few days away. YDP, strongly suspected to be the dubious handmaiden of the PDP, portends very ominous foreboding. For an election that would have held last month, it suggests that all the voting materials would have been printed with the names, symbols and logos of the existing parties. How is INEC supposed to accommodate or contain YDP in an election that is less than three weeks away? It is a ploy to call off the election indefinitely; it is PDP’s savage joker, a recipe for disaster.

Numerous questions arise: why are the presidency and the PDP afraid to face this election? Is the PDP minded to scuttle Nigeria’s fledgling democracy and indeed the polity? What does it hope to profit from such earth-trembling calamity that would ensue?

Need we reiterate that not to use the card readers would plunge the polity into untold crisis; to postpone the election any further would also invoke unimaginable catastrophe on Nigeria’s world. Worst of all, history will not forgive President onathan if he fails to organise a free, fair and orderly election and conduct a proper hand over. Jonathan stands to lose the most if he makes a meal of what is a great opportunity for him to turn out a great leader notwithstanding his acute shortcomings.

The card reader is modern, progressive and credible. The PDP call to abandon it is an invitation for voting without authentication. That means rigging, and is that what PDP wants? Not Nigerians.

March 11, 2015
PDP renews opposition to Card Readers, PVCs

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has stepped up its campaign against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega.

It also renewed its opposition to the use of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the general elections rescheduled for March 28 and April 11.

At a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, the PDP Integrity Vanguard, an interest group within the ruling party, raised issues on the integrity, propriety and appropriateness of deploying the card readers and the PVCs for the purpose of the elections.

Leaders of the group, Sen. Anietie Okon and Chief Sergeant Awuse sought explanations on why some states in the Boko Haram ravaged Northeast had over 70-80 per cent collection rates of the PVCs when many of the people in such states have been forced out of their communities.

The duo of Okon and Awuse said: “Isn’t it curious that Lagos, Ogun and several states in the South trailed behind in PVCs collection despite abundant manpower compared to the Northeast?

“Whereas INEC planned and announced that the distribution register of collection would be used, this was disregarded in the Northeast as some states’ INEC offices claimed that the distribution registers were not available and thus distributed without register.”

According to them, INEC distributed the PVCs in some states in the Northeast without the use of voter registers and that the commission had decided not to use SCRs in the Northeast.

They further alleged that PVCs were simply delivered to some unnamed politicians, district heads and clerics in some unnamed states in the Northeast.

They continued: “Insiders disclosed that the high prevalence of distribution and collection in the Northeast was achievable because distribution registers were deliberately avoided in order to effectively cover up the impending electoral fraud planned by Prof. Jega and the APC.

“As we speak, in most parts of the Northeast, millions of PVCs remain in the hands of powerful APC politicians. These cards will never get to their owners. Jega’s plan is to grant SCRs waiver to allow these PVCs to be used!

“Without question, Jega has proven to be irredeemably unpatriotic. INEC has just shifted the deadline for PVC collection. Can this shift still be attributed to security frailties?

“It is clear that Jega and INEC remain persistently impenitent in their determination to foist a predetermined outcome on Nigerians in the forthcoming March/April elections.

“Jega has also demonstrated dismal capacity and paucity of competent ideas to conduct elections in a complex ethno-religious composition like Nigeria. We therefore express total lack of confidence in Jega to superintend these elections, having failed to meet timelines and the benchmark for the conduct of credible elections in any clime.

“To attenuate their reprehensible plan further is the fact that Jega’s INEC has also invented a certain ‘incident form’ that will allow anyone to vote if his biometrics cannot be verified or authenticated.

“In other words, if the SCRs) Card fails to authenticate the biometrics of a would-be voter, that person simply fills a form and goes ahead to vote!

“What then is the essence of the biometrics if they cannot be trusted to provide the last security gateway against electoral fraud? This portends grave danger and is a recipe for unrestrained confusion at the polling stations.

“Rather than continue to engage in this chicanery, Jega should come clean and admit failure and save us anguish and national embarrassment. Jega’s integrity and strength of character has been greatly impugned. To allow Jega to conduct the 2015 elections is clearly to become complicit in Jega’s unconcealed criminal intentions.

“Card Readers are unarguably a recipe for monumental national disaster and must be discarded at this point because of the obvious intention to use it to rig elections in favour of APC and the consequent attendant threat to peace and security of the peoples of this country.

“In what is a classical case of putting the cart before the horse, the National Assembly was deliberately hoodwinked into approving the use of Card Readers days before the test-run that has thrown up inherent weaknesses of the machine. An error margin of three in ten is below the standards of acceptable error in any sphere of human activities and is therefore unacceptable.

“The 2011 elections may not have been perfect but it remains the only election in Nigeria internationally acclaimed to be free and fair. If we cannot improve on it, there is nothing wrong with staying with the formula that gave us the best elections ever. We call on INEC to immediately revert to the 2011 system with PVCs replacing TVCs.

“The National Assembly must as a matter of urgent national importance investigate the introduction by INEC of so-called “voting points” as INEC’saction is obviously intended to surreptitiously circumvent National Assembly’s express position on the matter.

“We believe it is the clandestine way Prof. Jega hopes to achieve his original intention of using them to generate the tie-breaking bank of votes and must not be allowed”.

March 10, 2015
Polls: No going back on Card Readers, says INEC

‘Policemen’ seize PVCs from owners

Cards collection extended to March 22

Opponents of Card Reader got yesterday some bad news: the machine will be used for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did a test run of the machine last Saturday. It was largely successful. This, said an INEC chief, has raised the agency’s confidence in the machine, which it insists will curb rigging.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is leading the opposition against the machine, saying it is new and untested.

INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega will meet with Resident Electoral Commissioners on Wednesday in Abuja to discuss the Saturday mock election, especially the use of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Contrary to reports, only one case of a weak Card Reader was recorded at INEC’s Situation Room on Saturday.

INEC yesterday extended the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from March 8 to March 22.

As at March 4, the commission had recorded 80.3 percent collection of the PVCs nationwide.

A National Commissioner, who spoke with our correspondent, said the electoral body would not drop Card Readers.

He said: “Nothing happened during the mock election on Saturday to warrant going back on the use of Card Readers for the general elections. The deployment of the Card Readers was successful and even international observers from the UN have attested to it.

“Contrary to some claims, only one case of Card Reader challenge was recorded at our Situation Room and it was a human thing.

“And concerning some alleged hitches, there were guidelines on what to do at any polling unit to make sure that an eligible voter is allowed to exercise his or her right.”

Responding to a question, the highly-placed source said: “The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega will meet with the National Commissioners and all the 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners on Wednesday in Abuja on the outcome of the Mock Election in 12 states and the use of Card Readers.”

The INEC chairman’s Chief Press Secretary Mr. Kayode Idowu, told our correspondent that the mock election was “largely successful”.

“The flaws being claimed were anticipated. The states where fingerprints were not authenticated had the PVC incident form procedure, it was agreed with political parties that the form will be filled,” Idowu said.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) was yesterday extended to March 22.

Prior to the extension, the collection of PVCs, which had reached 80.3 per cent as at March 4, would have ended yesterday.

A statement signed by Idowu said: “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across the country by additional two weeks.

“The collection will continue until March 22nd, 2015, superseding the earlier deadline of March 08th 2015.

“This latest extension offers the last opportunity for duly registered persons to collect their PVCs before the general elections scheduled for March 28th and April 11th, 2015.

“INEC hereby calls on registered persons that are yet to collect their PVCs to use this last opportunity in doing so, in order to participate in the forthcoming general elections.”

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties(CNPP) yesterday asked INEC to stick to the use of Card Readers.

The conference, which gave the advice in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, urged INEC to take note of the few lapses noted and improve on the device, so as to engender free, fair and transparent election.

The statement said: “The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP ) wishes to unequivocally state that we stand on the use of Magnetic Card Reader for accreditation of voters in the 2015 general elections.

“The mock test of the Magnetic Card Reader, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), even if the picture is the only identification matrix, has further emboldened and reinforced our resolve to adopt the device as the best device to avoid mangling and manipulating the electoral process.

“INEC should take note of the few lapses noted and improve on the device, so as to engender free, fair and transparent election. This will put paid to those who would want to repeat in Medical School after failing.

“We are making this declaration because in the absence of genuine reason, we adopt a device which has been used to conduct free, fair and transparent elections in many countries, like the US, UK, Brazil, Ghana, and the 2014 Indian general elections, an election where 600 million Indian voters voted seamlessly.

“It is regrettable that those who a few years back, declared that telephone is not for the Nigerian poor are behind the call for the rejection of Magnetic Card Reader technology for accreditation of Nigerian voters.

“We had thought that the lesson today that both the groundnut seller and the rich are using telephone is enough lesson on adaptation of new technology to advance our electoral process, which in the past was marred by irregularities.

“CNPP concurs with the valid evidence that the use of Magnetic Card Reader for accreditation of voters will minimize, if not eradicate ballot- box snatching, thumb printing of ballot papers and snatching of result sheets.”

The CNPP faulted the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for its hysteria on Card Readers.

The statement added: “We are therefore at a loss why the largest party in Africa – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – a party that has ruled our dear country for the last 16 years – is jittery and enveloped with hysteria over the use of the Magnetic Card Reader to advance our electoral process.

“To worsen matters, the PDP is desperately recruiting other political parties in this ignoble, undemocratic and unpatriotic onslaught on the nerve of our fledgling democracy.

“Accordingly, we take exception to our membership political parties that are wittingly or unwittingly against the deployment of Magnetic Card Reader, hence threatening the survival of our fledgling democracy and, by extension, the corporate existence of our dear country.

“We have anxiously noted the nefarious, unethical and undemocratic agitations of some political parties in league with the PDP for either the removal of Professor Attahiru Jega or dumping of Magnetic Reader for no just cause.

“Penultimate week they canvassed with the PDP for postponement of the 14th February presidential elections and it was granted, yesterday they headed for court, asking that Magnetic Card Reader should be discarded and today they are not only canvassing for another postponement, but querying the technical competence of the Card Reader and Jega’s head.

“The mock test invalidates their weak argument. May we ask, if the PDP leadership is sure of victory, will they have called for postponement of the 14th February presidential election date and suspension of Jega or the rejection of Magnetic Card Reader?

“Or is it morbid election-phobia stimulated in recognition of the core ingredient of election in liberal democracy, which is electoral referendum on the performance of the incumbent, which is making PDP jittery?

“In sum, the CNPP will eject membership political parties that engage in unethical and undemocratic agitation and embark on mass action, if either Jega is removed, Card Reader deleted or even the Temporary Voters Card added for accreditation.”

March 9, 2015
Ekiti APC urges improvement on card readers

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to address the non-recognition of fingerprints recorded at last Saturday’s test-running of card readers.

The party said the call became necessary to enhance the credibility of the general elections.

Its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, said in a statement yesterday that though the verdicts showed that the exercise gave hope for credible polls, there were areas that needed to be amended to remove doubts about the credibility and reliability of the device.

According to him, these include reported lapses in the functioning of the machines and inability of the device to recognise the fingerprints of some prospective voters, owing to dirty fingers.

Olatubosun said the exercise demonstrated evidence of INEC’s readiness to conduct fraud-free polls.

“If the result achieved at the weekend is improved upon, we can safely say that the technology marks the end of over-voting and impersonation,” Olatubosun said.

Describing the time saved during the exercise as incredible, he said the use of card readers will eliminate spending long hours in the queue while also removing the fears of health issues that might arise from staying long hours in the sun.

“It is incredible that accreditation took less than a minute instead of about five minutes in past exercises.

“Apart from eliminating multiple voting, it will encourage voters to vote for the candidate of their choice, without any fear of result manipulation.

“We praise this innovation by INEC. From what we have seen in the exercise, INEC has demonstrated that it is ready to create a legacy of credible elections in our country.”

Former Deputy Governor Sikiru Lawal criticised INEC for waiting few weeks before the elections to test-run the card readers.

Speaking with reporters yesterday, Lawal expressed fears that the March 28 elections might become chaotic as a result of what he called “INEC’s alleged untidy preparations”.

The former deputy governor, who participated in the mock accreditation exercise at Oloja Ese Polling Unit in Ado-Ekiti Ward 9, said the card reader captured his fingerprints on the seventh attempt.

He claimed that 10 others of the 64 verified by the machine suffered a similar fate, wondering how INEC would manage the 764 registered voters in the ward on election day.

March 9, 2015
INEC’s card readers test-run largely successful nationwide

•Cloned PVC detected in Rivers
•PDP kicks over exercise

The test-run of card readers’ machines by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 12 states was largely successful with pockets of hitches in some areas.

Many of the machines deployed by the commission performed excellently though the thumb prints of some voters were rejected.

Turnouts varied from state to state with voters in the north more enthusiastic.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, protested what it described as “series of complaints from Nigerians”.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday, said: “Our response to the emerging problems and challenges from Saturday’s testing of the card reader is ‘RES IPSA LOQUITOR’- the fact speaks for itself.

“The PDP and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians await INEC’s official response and or its final decision after such defining challenges.”

58 percent voters authentic in Niger

In Niger, 58 percent with Permanent Voters’ Card (PVCs) have been cleared as authentic in Niger State.

The card readers’ machine rejected the remaining 42 percent voters.

The National Commissioner for the electoral body, Dr. Chris Iyimoga, disclosed these in Gwada ward of Shiroro Local Government area.

He said the figures were from the 18 polling units in the ward, which initially had a total of 10,243 persons with PVCs and Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs).

Only 1,799 eligible voters, he added, turned up for the exercise out of which 1,045 were authenticated by the card readers.

Some voters however complained about the delays encountered with the device during the test-run.

They expressed fear that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may not meet up with the time allocated for accreditation of voters during elections.

The All Progressives Congress (APC)ý in the state commended the electoral body for exercise, stating that the device may be free from abuse.

Its Public Secretary, Jonathan Vatsa, who observed the exercise, said INEC did a fantastic job, adding that it would knock out the issue of multiple voting.

“APC is in support of the card readers. This shows that we are moving away from the old age to the new age and that we are moving forward as a nation.”

Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Umar Ma’ali, also praised INEC.

He stated his party was satisfied with the device but skeptical with the time frame for accreditation.

“It takes more time to accredit one voter. The time allocated will not meet up with the accreditation of the voters.

“PDP is satisfied with the card readers. We only have questions on the time frame. The time allocated is five hours and it takes one minute to accredit a voter.

“If there are 1,000 voters in a polling unit, it means it would take up to 14 hours to accredit them. Something needs to be done about this.”

Device records hitches in Ebonyi

There were hiccups with the card readers’ machines deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for test-run in Ebonyi.

Most eligible voters complained the machines did not capture their thumb prints.

They also said the process took longer than expected.

Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr. Emma Abbah, attributed the hiccups to the machines or the servers.

He disclosed that in a place his team visited, only two out of 22 voters were authenticated.

‘’I hope the technical team of INEC is noting the problems to be able to correct the lapses before the main elections,’’ he said.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Lawrence Azubuike, said the authentication did not go well as expected by the commission.

‘’The authentication has been very poor in most of the units. At the end of the day, we are going to get detailed reports from the officers who already have what we called the Incident Reports Forms in which they will fill out the specific issues encountered in the field,’’ he said.

Impressive turnout in Kano

Stakeholders and observers have hailed yesterday’s mock elections in Kano as hugely successful.

The exercise conducted at Danmaliki ward in Kumbosto local government area also recorded high turnout.

However, our correspondent observed that out of 60 accredited persons at the 006 polling unit, 39 cases failed.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Minkaila Abdullahi, stated that the agency has made contingency arrangement to tackle the hitches.

According to him: “The only challenge we are facing is the minor problem of the machine capturing some of the finger prints and the cause could be attributed to the texture of individual skin, so the machine is reliable for the elections.”

“The Commission is mindful of the fact that there is need for assessment and that is why the accreditation is now made to take place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The outcome of this exercise will determine the acceptability of the card reader machine for the election.”

The chairman of Kumbotso Local Government Area, Alhaji Lawal Ismaila, expressed satisfaction with the exercise.

An observer with Nigeria United for Democracy (NUD), Adamu Adams, stated: “INEC should enlighten the people the more and provide water or spirit so that if people could wash their hands, the process will be easier and faster.

“So, to me, I can put the level of success of this mock election at 60 per cent.”

Card readers have come to stay, says REC

Bauchi’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Hamman Saad, yesterday dismissed campaigns by some groups and politicians for rejection of card readers for the forthcoming general elections.

He maintained “nothing would further strengthen and deepen democracy in Nigeria better than the use of the card readers.”

Saad spoke while demonstrating functions of the readers in his office in Bauchi, the state capital.

He stressed that “the era of electoral malpractice is over.”

The REC explained “the Commission has taken adequate and necessary measures to ensure free, fair and credible elections.

“I want our people to know that the era of election malpractices and rigging by politicians is gone for good.”

Prof. Sa’ad, who conducted the 2011 general elections in Borno State, disclosed that INEC in Bauchi State has received 5,385 card readers and 4,749 ballot boxes.

He explained the decision to use card readers was to eliminate electoral malpractices during elections.

Answering questions on how the device works, Saad stated: “Once the card reader captures the fingerprint of a voter, it records the number and sends it to the central data bank at the INEC National Headquarters, ICT unit Abuja and Bauchi.”

He warned miscreants to keep away from the polling units as law enforcement agents are permitted to deal with those out to cause trouble or confusion during voting.

Machines faulty in Anambra

It took between 10 seconds and 20 minutes for voters who participated in the mock election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to get accredited yesterday in Anambra.

The card readers rejected the thumb prints of many of the voters.

Also, few eligible voters turned up for the exercise.

Voters with confirmed Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) had their finger prints rejected with the machines indicating ‘verification failed’ when subjected to use.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Edwin Offor Nwatarali, insisted the readers were in good shape and would work smoothly.

He explained many of the rejected finger prints were attributable to greasy or dirty fingers.

Nwatarali said: “We however overcame that by making the voters to wash their hands and cleaning them properly before coming to thumbprint.

“We believe that on the whole, the card will help us to have a good election.”

Senator Chris Uba(Anambra South) confirmed the cards worked perfectly, saying they will help to achieve credible polls.

Uba representing Anambra South Senatorial Zone, also said that the cards were working perfectly and would help to conduct a very credible election.

Successful verification in Delta

The mock verification exercise in Delta State was largely successful despite minor glitches and poor turnout.

The card readers performed without major hitches at Niger Mixed Secondary School and Asagba Primary Schools in Asaba, the state capital.

Edo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, assured the minor hitches recorded would be accommodated by options such as filling incident form and time compensation.

Delta State Independent Election Commission (DSIEC boss), Moses Ogbe, urged Nigerians to give the card readers a chance.

He stated that the error margins of the readers were negligible.

According to him, the electoral body may provide basic facilities at polling units to accommodate those whose fingerprints were dirty and could not be verified by the card readers.

Cloned PVC fails in Rivers

A suspected cloned Permanent Voters Card (PVC) failed verification yesterday in Port-Harcourt during the mock election.

It was discovered the PVC was not issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the card readers’ machine failed to recognise the bearer.

The test-run was conducted in all the 23 units of Ward 1 (Oromineke and Ezimgbu) and the 19 voting points in the area.

188 officials of INEC carried out the exercise.

Rivers Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dame Gecila Khan, who monitored the test-run, said the exercise conducted was successful.

She said the essence of the card readers’ machine was to spot out irregularities.

At Mopol 19, Old GRA area of Port Harcourt, the turnout was impressive.

Electoral officials filled out incident forms on their behalf with the promise to rectify the issue before the election dates.

Parties, observers, voters hail exercise

International observers, non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, eligible voters and political parties have okayed the use of card readers in Ekiti State.

This was after the test-run of the card readers’ machines at Dallimore Ward 009, which has 21,631 registered voters out of which 14,461 had collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) across 46 polling units.

Although the turnout was not impressive, the practical demonstration of the device assured voters the machines were neither time-wasting nor designed to disenfranchise them.

At about 11.30 am when our reporter visited polling unit 002 at the ward, no fewer than 60 voters had been accredited with the use of the readers.

The technical officers, who manned the unit, stated that the average time for accreditation ranged from four to six seconds.

At Ajitadidun/Olora’s compound polling unit 006, it was discovered that the average range of time of accreditation ranged between five and thirteen seconds.

Eligible voters who participated in the exercise commended INEC for the innovation, which they believed would make the forthcoming polls more credible.

A voter, who was verified at Dallimore Polling Unit 002, Mrs. Taiwo Ojo, said: “I spent less than five seconds to get accredited. I am happy about one thing, if I had brought a fake voter card, the machine would have detected it and anything that could detect fraud is good for election. So, I support the use of these machines”.

Political parties in Ekiti State under the auspices of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) also threw their weight behind the device.

The state CNPP Chairman, Tunji Ogunlola, who led party leaders to monitor the exercise, described it as very transparent and reliable.

Parties, who okayed the readers include All Progressives Congress (APC); African Democratic Congress (ADC); KOWA; National Conscience Party (NCP); Alliance for Democracy (AD); All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Citizens Popular Party (CPP); Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).

An election observer from the European Union (EU), Mrs. Rumi Anna Dacheva, said she was impressed by the workability of the card readers.

Machines fail in Taraba

The card readers failed to identify thumb prints in at least seven polling units yesterday in Taraba.

The exercise, which began by 800am, was conducted in the polling units of Mutum Biu ward in Gasol local government area of Taraba state.

The exercise witnessed a large out of voters.

The polling officer at Kofan Serki Lawan Maigeri and his counterpart at Alhasan polling unit told reporters that the failure of the machines was a major setback for the forthcoming general elections.

INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba states, Dr. Nuru Yakubu, said the commission was happy with the exercise despite the hitches.

Yakubu, who was accompanied by INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners of Gombe, Adamawa and Taraba, described the exercise as “a huge success for the commission” since two out of the three aims of the card reader were achieved.

March 8, 2015
Fayose alleges APC, INEC conspiracy over card readers

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has alleged a conspiracy between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the proposed use of smart card readers during this month’s elections.

Fayose said the APC has a sinister agenda up its sleeves with its insistence that the device should be used on the election day, stressing that the use of card readers might cause confusion during and after elections.

But the Youth Wing of the APC in the state slammed the governor for opposing the use of smart card readers, saying “it is only enemies of democracy and incorrigible election riggers” that will oppose any patriotic step taken to ensure a cleaner electoral process.

The APC youths said Fayose is afraid that another electoral fraud like that of June 21, 2014 which has been exposed won’t be possible in the March 28 and April 11 elections.

Fayose in a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, alleged that the APC is known for its penchant for promotion of confusion and division in Nigeria for political gain even at the expense of the wellbeing and unity of the country.

The governor claimed that the leadership of the APC has a hidden agenda hence its consistent calls for the use of card readers, accusing the opposition party of crying wolf where there was none in an alleged bid to throw the country into chaos.

March 5, 2015
2015 Card readers

•INEC should deploy the device to make crooked elections straight

The blight of credible elections has been quite traumatic for the country. For years, the voter’s wish had always been submerged in the context of rigging that has made nonsense of elections in the country. And Professor Attahiru Jega, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saddled with election planning and management sometime ago gave a hint of his determination to prove that the commission will do everything possible to conduct reliable, free and fair general elections in 2015.

His bright spark is the proposed deployment of card readers on the day of elections by the commission. Jega unfurled this in a paper titled: “Stakeholders and the Electoral Process in Nigeria” that he delivered at a lecture at the Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, in which he reportedly declared: “If you buy voter cards, you can’t use them on voting day because the mechanism we are putting in place in every polling unit will detect fraud and whoever that was involved will be arrested on the spot for electoral fraud and prosecution.” The goal of this scheme, according to him, is to ensure that those card readers detect voter’s impersonation at polling units through their fingerprints.

We are aware of the efficacy of a card reader being data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. These electronic devices can read plastic cards embedded with either a barcode, magnetic strip, computer chip like the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) that is just being distributed to Nigerians of registered voting age. The PVC is a chip-based card and contains a chip that carries all details and information about each registered voter, including his photograph and fingerprints, amongst others. If properly managed and made available in polling units across the country, the card reader machines will effortlessly ensure authentication of legitimate holder of voters’ cards; thereby mitigating incidents of voting irregularities that Nigeria has become legendary for on issues of election and abuse of voters’ cards.

The question to ask is whether INEC will not bungle the otherwise lofty scheme. We recollect that during the 2011 general elections, the Data Capturing Machines (DCM) deployed by the commission became nightmares and most actually got jettisoned in most voting centres across the country due to the notorious but avoidable ‘Nigerian factor’. Perhaps, the electoral umpire must invest in human capital by ensuring that its staff are properly trained and accorded the right orientation to prevent unscrupulous ones amongst them from derailing the electoral process through criminal compromise of the machines and by extension, the electoral process. The election management prowess of INEC has largely been doubted and mostly ridiculed in the past because its staff often fall for the alluring inducement offers of desperate politicians.

Equally, by Jega’s admission, using the January/February 2011 voters’ registration exercise, Nigeria has about 73.5 million voters. It is not cheering news to note that the commission plans to give PVCs to only about 40 million registered voters out of the 73.5million by December, while it intends to distribute the balance early next year. This, uncomfortably, is less than two months to the general election.

Beyond this, INEC must endeavour to make this initiative work. The commission needs to realise that the card reader machines will be useless without the commission’s speedy and efficient issuance of the PVC to qualified voters. The two are crucial to the success of the new initiative by the commission.

September 4, 2014