Prince Efe Duku, Special Adviser on Legislative and Plenary Matters to Senate Deputy President Ovie Omo-Agege, yesterday denied that his principal voted against electronic transmission of election results.
Duku in a statement in Abuja said the Deputy Senate President voted to guarantee secure and uniform application of E-Transmission of results everywhere in the country.
He insisted that as a “chief architect of and resourceful actor in the ongoing electoral reform”, Omo-Agege supports Electronic Voting (E-Voting) as contained in Clause 52(2) of the Bill.
Duku said: “Further, the Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege did not vote against E-Transmission of election results.
“Rather, the Deputy President of the Senate wisely and courageously voted for an amendment to Clause 52(3) of the Bill (on E-Transmission) to guarantee secure E-Transmission of all election results and uniform application of E-Transmission everywhere in the country, not just some parts of it.
“In simple terms, The Obarisi of Urhoboland voted to support an amendment that ensures, for example, that INEC does not transmit only election results in Urhobo electronically while other areas may have their results transmitted otherwise and safely.
“For him, all election results must be treated equally under a uniformly applied standard.
“Indeed, Senator Omo-Agege as an erudite lawyer knows that it is unconstitutional for the National Assembly to enact an Electoral Act that is inherently discriminatory in its design and intended application.
“For him, to pass the test of constitutional validity, the law must apply uniformly to all electoral domains in the country. Otherwise such a law could be easily struck down by a court if taken for judicial reviews by those who may be negatively impacted.
“Further, in arriving at his thoughtful decision, Senator Omo-Agege was guided by unimpeached data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) that E-Transmission of results is only possible in less than 50 per cent of all electoral domains in the country.
“For him, the message from this data is that if INEC is allowed unfettered E-Transmission power, then there will be unequal treatment of election results and that would be a fundamental lawmaking flaw.
“So he stood firm to prevent such a move that would have led to a needless waste of legislative resources and time.
“In view of the foregoing, we hereby confidently assure our people that all is well as far as the ongoing Electoral Reform is concerned.
“Senator Omo-Agege as a leading champion of the reform since he first stepped into the Red Chamber in the 8th Senate is protecting the best, strategic interest of our people and the nation.”