21st April, 2011
With the successful conduct of the National Assembly and Presidential elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, a member of the House of Representatives, Olusegun Ogunbanjo has said that Nigeria is ripe for e-voting.
Ogunbanjo who is representing Ajeromi/Ifelodun Federal constituency, disclosed this while commenting on the conduct of the elections.
Ogunbanjo, a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, also explained that the credibility of the exercise “depends on the electorate,’’ adding that no election can be totally free and fair.
“We have seen what Prof. Attahiru Jega has done. We need to move forward in another four years. I think there will be another innovation, that is when e-voting will come on board.
“The credibility of an election depends on the electorate, politicians and the electoral body. We should have a situation where everyone will cast his vote and know the winners immediately, not waiting for two or three days before getting the results and knowing the winners. That is when we can say we have a credible election,†he stated.
The lawmaker commended Jega for accepting responsibility for the botched 2 April National Assembly elections. “He did well by stopping the election. I give him kudos for that,†Ogunbanjo stated.
He called on ACN supporters and Lagosians not to bother themselves about last Saturday’s presidential election but cast their votes for ACN candidates on Tuesday.
—Paul Sanusi