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Electoral Reform Must Follow Readiness, Not Rhetoric As Connectivity Is Still Very Low In Rural Areas -ADSC Boss, Oluwafemi

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"irYuJL4g" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>President and Chief Executive<br &sol;>&NewLine;Africa Development Studies Centre &lpar;ADSC&rpar; and Member&comma; Harvard Business Review Advisory Council&comma; Sir Victor Oluwafemi has said Electoral Reforms must follow readiness&comma; not rhetoric as connectivity is still very low in rural areas of Nigeria&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"VnDDq9as" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>The ADSC president made this assertion in a statement on Monday declaring that&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The Office of the President and Chief Executive of the Africa Development Studies Centre &lpar;ADSC&rpar; issues this statement as an expert governance and public policy advisory on the ongoing national discourse surrounding electronic voting and real time transmission of election results in Nigeria&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;This intervention is not political&period; It is institutional&comma; evidence based&comma; and grounded in systems thinking drawn from comparative governance practice and digital transformation experience&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"fcnXno3T" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>He insisted that Nigeria is not yet structurally ready for real time result transmission as Nigeria’s democratic aspiration must be matched by infrastructural reality&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;At present&comma; the push for real time electronic transmission of election results risks prioritising speed over integrity&comma; and visibility over verifiability&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Nigeria still conducts elections through manual voting&comma; manual counting&comma; and physical documentation at polling units&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Every valid result begins with paper processes&comma; human procedures&comma; and environmental dependencies that technology alone cannot correct&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Without stable electricity&comma; universal telecom coverage&comma; cyber resilient systems&comma; uniform training&comma; and legal clarity&comma; real time transmission remains aspirational rather than operational&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Oluwafemi explained that&colon; &&num;8220&semi;Attempting to enforce it nationwide under current conditions risks three serious outcomes&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Disenfranchisement&comma; particularly in rural and low connectivity communities<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Expanded cyber vulnerability&comma; where perception of compromise alone can delegitimise outcomes<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Increased post election litigation&comma; due to conflicting evidentiary standards<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Even advanced democracies do not prioritise instant transmission over auditability&period; They retain paper as the legal anchor while using technology to support verification&comma; reconciliation&comma; and transparency&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The Issue Is Not Technology&period; It Is Sequencing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Electoral reform must be engineered as national infrastructure&comma; not introduced as an election season feature&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;From a governance systems perspective&comma; Nigeria requires a phased and platform based approach to electoral modernisation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;This is where Policy as a Platform &lpar;PaaP&rpar; and Results as a Service &lpar;RaaS&rpar; provide practical&comma; non partisan pathways forward&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>What Policy as a Platform &lpar;PaaP&rpar; Offers INEC<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;PaaP reframes electoral reform as a continuous&comma; standards driven governance system&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Applied to the electoral process&comma; PaaP would&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Establish minimum national readiness thresholds for power&comma; connectivity&comma; cybersecurity&comma; and device integrity<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Enable gradual&comma; geographically sequenced deployment rather than a risky nationwide switch<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Align law&comma; operations&comma; technology&comma; and dispute resolution into one coherent electoral platform<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Institutionalise transparency and auditability as design features&comma; not post election explanations<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Under PaaP&comma; elections are treated as engineered systems&comma; not improvised events&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>What Results as a Service &lpar;RaaS&rpar; Delivers<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;RaaS shifts national focus away from how quickly results appear&comma; towards how credibly they are produced&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For electoral administration&comma; RaaS would&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Treat each polling unit result as a verified service output with defined checks and validation stages<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Prioritise reconciliation&comma; traceability&comma; and audit trails before public visibility<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Reduce disputes by strengthening confidence in process rather than accelerating announcements<br &sol;>&NewLine;• Measure success by acceptance and legitimacy&comma; not by transmission speed<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In democratic governance&comma; trust is built on proof&comma; not on immediacy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>ADSC Advisory Position<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Nigeria does not need to abandon electoral technology&period; It needs to respect the order of reform&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Infrastructure must come before automation&period; Verification must come before visibility&period; Trust must come before speed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Until foundational gaps in power&comma; connectivity&comma; cybersecurity&comma; operational discipline&comma; and legal coherence are addressed&comma; real time electronic transmission of results should remain a medium term objective&comma; not an immediate mandate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;Electoral reform must be deliberate&comma; inclusive&comma; and system ready&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;That is how democracies endure&comma; he added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;98&period;1 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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