The former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has stated that he would have joined erstwhile presidential candidate, Peter Obi and others in the protest to restore the electronic transmission of election results, but is currently not in the country.
Speaking during an interview on Trust TV, El-Rufai claimed that the Senate’s move is aimed at enabling post-election manipulation.
He stated that it was unfortunate he could not return to Nigeria earlier to join the protest in person.
“I would have joined Mr. Peter Obi and other party leaders in protesting to the National Assembly to restore the real-time and mandatory transmission of results from the polling unit,” El-Rufai said.
According to him, electronic transmission of results remains the most effective way to curb electoral manipulation, noting that rigging does not occur at polling units but during collation.
“It is the only way we can stop the manipulation that goes on in the collation centers. That is where the real rigging takes place. Rigging doesn’t happen in the polling unit; it is in the collation centers,” he stated.
El-Rufai lamented that although the provision for mandatory electronic transmission of results has been passed by the House of Representatives, it is allegedly being frustrated by the Senate.
“This provision would have improved the quality of our elections. But we all know why the ruling party and the sitting government don’t want that, they know they can’t win the elections,” he alleged.
He further claimed that manipulating results after voting gives the ruling party its only advantage, adding: “The only way they have a fighting chance is to manipulate the results after people have voted.”
