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Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has criticised comments credited to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Joash Amupitan, expressing doubts about the complete reliability of technology in ensuring credible elections.
The statement by the party was in reaction to remarks reportedly made by the INEC chairman on Thursday at the Annual National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections organised by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room in Abuja.
The forum, themed ‘Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance’, featured discussions on electoral reforms and democratic consolidation in Nigeria.
According to media reports, Prof Amupitan stated at the event that technological innovations could not be fully relied upon to guarantee free, fair and credible elections in the country.
In a statement signed by its state chairman, Sunday Bisi, the Osun PDP described the remarks as careless, unguarded and unfortunate and warned that they could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
The party said the comments were capable of creating fear among Nigerians and members of the international community ahead of forthcoming elections.
Bisi called on the INEC chairman to allay the fears generated by the statement and tender an apology, insisting that Nigerians deserved elections free from manipulation and irregularities.
He stressed that electoral credibility was central to democracy, noting that the Electoral Act 2022 provided a legal framework for the deployment of technology, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
The PDP chairman said technology remained critical to addressing challenges that had characterised previous elections in Nigeria.
“As a body in charge of conducting and supervising elections in Nigeria, the Osun State Chapter of PDP is of the strong conviction that such a statement by Prof Amupitan was not only careless, unguarded but unfortunate at this time.
“As a party, we view it as tantamount to preparing ground for rigging in the coming elections in Nigeria, which will not be welcomed by Nigerians and lovers of democracy all over the world.
“Telling Nigerians and the whole world that technology is not reliable in the coming elections is like preparing the minds of people on what they should expect before the conduct of the elections,” he said.
He urged the INEC chairman to withdraw the comments and ensure that all technological devices deployed for elections function effectively.
“Technology is and should be regarded as the best way to ensure credible elections,” he concluded.
Osun PDP slams INEC chair over doubts on election technology
