Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has ended the speculation about the procedure adopted in transmitting results of the last general elections.

In a video recording played on Tuesday before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), Yakubu explained that INEC jettisoned its plan to transmit elections results electronically owing to two other challenges, beside the legal constraint.

Yakubu said before the elections, INEC officials met with telecommunication experts drawn from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the telecoms service providers during which two main challenges were identified.

The first, he noted, was the inadequacy of telecommunication infrastructure across the country.

The second, Yakubu said, was that of cyber insecurity which, he added, had marred such experiments (electronic transmission of election results) in some countries.

Yakubu said: “On the issue of transmission of results electronically, I recall that we had some discussions with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). And, through the NCC, we had meetings with the telecoms service providers.

“And we have identified blind spots in Nigeria (areas without telecommunication coverage).  Beside the issue of blind spot, we also have discussions with the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT). We have not concluded our discussion with the Nigerian Communications Satellite in that respect.

“There are two issues. The first one, communication. With respect to the blind spots; how do you communicate?

“Secondly, the percentage of the country that is covered by 2G, let alone 3G or 4G network, and there are no 5, in Nigeria is very small.”

He said in view of the inadequacy in the available telecommunication infrastructure, the commission concluded that it was impossible to adopt the electronic method of election transmission, because the plan was not only to send  figures, but, in addition, pictures of forms containing details of the election results.

Yakubu added that the commission concluded that way “because sending figures is different from sending images. So, we have challenge in the area of communication”.

According to the INEC Chairman, the second problem was security, particularly cyber security.

He cited examples of countries, such as Kenya and others, that tried electronic transmission of results but experienced security challenges.

The recording was of an interview session with the INEC chairman, aired by a private television station on February 6, 2019, and in which he ruled out the possibility of INEC transmitting results electronically.