Nigeria will continue use of card readers – Jega

 

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Attahiru Jega has said the electoral body will continue to make use of the smart card reader when conducting elections in the country.

Jega said this on Saturday yesterday at the Wheatbaker Hotel, in Ikoyi, Lagos State where he was hosted to an evening with 100 young leaders by EbonyLife TV.

According to Jega, there is no doubt that the introduction of the smart card reader technology into Nigeria’s electoral process contributed greatly to the success of the 2015 general elections.

Jega, who fielded questions from a select pool of leading young professionals from various occupational sectors and socio-economic backgrounds, was also honoured as a “Champion of our Collective Aspiration for Free, Fair and Violent-free Elections” at the event.

Explaining the motive behind the event, Executive Chairman and CEO of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu, said “It is important for young Nigerians to ask questions; the Nigerian youth were a big part of the last general elections. We wanted Nigeria’s future leaders to grasp not only the importance of the elections and its ramifications for the country, but to begin to build upon it by truly understanding the legacy left by Professor Jega.”

The INEC chief while explaining his conviction about the card reader described it as a potent tool in the war against electoral malpractices, adding that the card readers had come to stay as the commission had no reason whatsoever to discontinue its use for elections in the country.

He also admitted that there is need for the INEC to examine areas of improving the effectiveness of the technology as it strives to retain its use.

Jega also urged young professionals in Nigeria to give the nation their best whenever and wherever they have the opportunity of contributing to the growth and development of the country, regardless of the current uncertainties pervading the country.