- Dele Momodu has challenged claims by Senate President Godswill Akpabio that poor network coverage in nine states could hamper the electronic transmission of election results, urging INEC to address connectivity issues rather than weaken electoral reforms.
- Momodu further opined that weakening or eliminating electronic transmissions due to challenges faced by nine out of the 36 states and the FCT would portray Nigeria as a country succumbing to backwardness and decline.
Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dele Momodu, has lashed out at Senate President Godswill Akpabio over his claims of unavailability of mobile network services in nine states of the alliance, a situation which Akpabio said could hamper the real-time electronic transmission of election results.
Momodu responded in a post on
“Sir, please list the nine states where Nigeria’s mobile network is unavailable. Please ask INEC to immediately contact and contract our telecom giants to start work in these areas in earnest.” Momodu wrote.
He considered this argument outdated, adding: “We are no longer in an age of illiteracy; if phones and the Internet can now operate at super-fast speeds on airplanes flying at approximately 40,000 feet, we should no longer be giving lame excuses.”
Momodu further opined that weakening or eliminating electronic transmissions due to challenges faced by nine out of the 36 states and the FCT would portray Nigeria as a country succumbing to backwardness and decline.
Prior to this, Akpabio was speaking at a public event on the electoral law amendments, where the Senate Chairman said insecurity had resulted in the failure of mobile networks in about nine states.
“Real-time transmission of results means there will be no election results in more than nine states where insecurity has rendered networks inoperable,” Akpabio added, “If the national grid collapses and there is no network running, there will be no election outcome.”
