The Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) received N1.47 billion to replace and maintain
computer servers for use during the 2019 general elections.
It is not clear though how the
servers, which store computer data, were used during the polls. But the finding
raises fresh concerns over the commission’s recent claim it had no server for
the elections.
Determining whether the
commission operated a central computer database that received election results
has become central to the 2019 presidential election dispute, after former Vice
President Atiku Abubakar said results on the server proved he defeated
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The electoral commission declared
Mr Buhari winner of the February 16 election, but Mr Abubakar, his main
challenger, has rejected the decision, saying his win was suppressed by INEC.
The electrocal commission, INEC,
has disputed Mr Abubakar’s claims, and has denied transmitting election results
electronically or saving them on a server.
PremiumTimes reports that INEC’s budget for the 2019 elections, and the spending plan shows the electoral
body collected from the federal government N1.47 billion for servers. The
commission requested N2.27 billion.
It is not clear whether these
servers were used for the elections , or whether election results were
transmitted electronically. INEC insists it did not send results electronically
to a server, but some ad hoc staff used during the polls have claimed they were
instructed to send the results to a “central server”.
A spokesperson for the
commission, Festus Okoye, said the budget for servers was made in
anticipation that President Buhari would sign the amended Electoral Act to
allow electronic transfer of voting results.
He said the commission will at
the appropriate time explain to Nigerians how it expended the money it got for
servers and the entire huge N143.5 billion budget it got for the polls.
CONTROVERSY
Mr Abubakar, backed by his party,
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said he won the election with about 1.6 million
votes, contrasting the results released by INEC.
The former vice president said he sourced his
figures from INEC’s database. In response, INEC has strongly denied operating a
server for the election, saying such activities were not permitted by the
electoral law.
The commission accused Mr Abubakar of
circulating fake results. Mr Buhari and his ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC) also sided with the electoral umpire and alleged criminal interception of
a public institution’s communication by Mr Abubakar and the PDP.
In a response to INEC’s denial of
the server and its purported result, Mr Abubakar has submitted affidavits from
12 persons they said worked for INEC as election officials.
A civil society group, Youth Initiative for
Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), said its observers saw polling
officers ‘attempting’ to transmit results electronically in 65 per cent (961 of
1489) of polling units observed on the presidential Election Day.
After the postponement of the election by a
week, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, lso said
the commission made provisions for a central collation server.
“…The fact is that I am aware
that at the polling unit, the same result is there, the duplicate has been
given to the party agents and transmitted to the central server. Without
talking to me, both of you have the result,” the official said during a
Channels TV programme aired on February 18.
While it is not clear what
servers INEC says it does not have, the budget details, published by the Policy
and Legal Advocacy Centre, a civil society group, showed INEC allocated N2.27
billion for servers in the N143.5 billion approved for the commission.
Another N157.5 million was budgeted for the
renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure.
A breakdown of the budget for
servers in the N143.5 billion is as follows:
1. N1.37 billion budgeted for
nationwide replacement of servers for 25 states and National Data Centre.
2. N99.7 million budgeted for an
upgrade of the server version of OpenVR for compatibility with new Dell server.
3. N157.5 million budgeted for
the renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure.
INEC’s Responds
In a response via text message on
Saturday, Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commission said the commission did not
use electronic servers for transmission of results because the amended electoral
act was yet to be signed into law.
“The Commission prepared and
assumed that the amendment to the Electoral Act may be signed into law”, Mr
Okoye said.
He said the commission will
eventually give account of the resources budgeted and used for the election but
failed to clarify questions on the type of servers INEC budgeted for and how
the money was spent.
“…It is patently wrong to write
ruling and judgments for the Courts. The onus is on the petitioners to prove
their assertions relating to the issue of results and servers,” he said,
referring to the litigation filed by Mr Abubakar.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, INEC’s
spokesperson, said the commission stood by the position made by its lawyer in
court on the matter.
“I cannot say anything outside
what the lawyer said. What he said is the position of the commission,” Mr
Oyekanmi said in a phone interview Saturday.
Nigerians React
Meanwhile, Nigerians are
criticising the INEC over the confusion surrounding the use of servers during
the election.
While some expressed shock,
others demanded that INEC be held accountable for misappropriation of funds
meant for servers.
Shehu Sani, former Kaduna senator
twitted, “It’s interesting and wonderful to know that INEC has no server or
rather ‘serverless’.”
“Dear National Assembly, did you
dole out large sums just for INEC to misappropriate the funds meant servers?”
asked John Danfulani @john_danfulani.
“INEC on this day denied that
they didn’t have server during 2019 presidential election. My question is: Me
that worked as a P. O during the election where did I transmit my Elections
results? With this am seeing many people not making heaven at last,” One.acre
@NekkaSmith said.
“The anyhowness in Nigeria is why
INEC will stand in court &dare to say that they do not have servers. Why
did INEC request the large sums to deploy IT infrustracture?”
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Mahmood Yakubu will not come out now to tell Nigerians the truth until later in his life he will write a book to justify why he did it thereby making himself the hero. Nigerians will not forgive you.
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