Card Reader hiccups national embarrassment – PDP
PHOTO: AFP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has described the hiccup of Card Reader in accrediting President Goodluck Jonathan at Otuake Ward as a huge national embarrassment.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Olisa Metuh, the party’s National Publicity Secretary in Abuja on Saturday.
The statement added that Govs. Jonah Jang, of Plateau, James Ngilari of Adamawa and Isa Yuguda of Buachi, among others, also experienced similar hiccup.
It then called for thorough explanation from INEC.
It contended that the poor working of the card readers in the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections across the country could have been avoided.
This, it said, added, would have been so if INEC had listened to sound advice from well-meaning individuals, organisations and the PDP regarding the deployment of the machines without proper testing.
The statement added that the last minute resort to manual accreditation by INEC, hours into the exercise against its earlier guidelines, clearly showed the failure of the system.
“The unfortunate development is a vindication of our earlier position that as good as the idea of card readers is, it was too virgin to be successfully used in a general election without proper testing.
“This is especially in an environment as ours that is not entirely digitally proficient”, it said.
It expressed concern about the development, given the avowed commitment of the President Jonathan-led PDP administration to hitch-free, fair and credible electoral process.
It, therefore, charged the electoral commission to take urgent steps within the law, to ensure that no willing and qualified voter was disenfranchised.
The statement urged Nigerians to remain calm in the overall interest of the nation.
It frowned at reported cases of accreditation of under-aged persons in some states, especially in the Northern part of the country.
The PDP statement called on INEC to ensure that such unqualified persons were not allowed to vote, but also to prosecute its officials involved in the crime.
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12 Comments
there is no national embarrassment just because the PVC card reader didn’t work adequately. its being used for the first time and those leading the customisation of the software might still not competent enough, but if they build on the knowledge acquired so far then it is a win win for Nigeria. the software may be experiencing what we call constant postback every time it authenticate a voter rather than relying on the cache result for subsequent voters a situation where you have more roundtrip for the application. just a tweaking of the software will produce better result in the future. I have decide to be technical may be somebody from INEC may be reading and they can try what I just suggested.
GOD BLESS YOU SIR, ONLY THE CORRUPT WILL COMPLAIN. WE ARE TIRED TO ALLOW THIEVES TO BE LEADING US AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. CARD READER IS HERE TO STAY IN NIGERIA ELECTIONS, WHOEVER DOES NOT LIKE IT, SHOULD GO AND HUG TRANSFOMER.
it has problem right from day one it is apc who are crying for use of it ,inec knows it will fail but inec chairman is working with apc.
They made them to malfunction during Jonathan’s accreditation to prove the PDP point that the readers are bad. I think it was a ploy to send out a message and look for an excuse.
IT IS TRUE, THEY CARRY NETWORK JAMMER WITH THEM TO THE POLLING CENTER, HOW COME IT WORKED WHEN GEJ LEFT THE POLLING CENTER ?. THIS GUY PDP IS CORRUPT TO BITS
are they not man-made? machine/human who is at fault?
They are man-made. But they do not necessary fail. Card readers are used everywhere at immigration, for instance. They problem is someone may have cut corners and bought the very cheap ones meant for personal use. Same thing with the failed CCTVs, NEPA meter, etc. INEC should disclose the make and model of their card readers and you will be shocked that they have unbranded card readers.
That the card readers malfunctioned is not the problem. The issue is that INEC appears not to have made contingency plans if the card readers were to malfunction. There has to be a plan B… the fall- back option. That is why INEC should have taken the concerns about card readers’ functionality very seriously.
“That the card readers malfunctioned is not the problem..” exactly! The problem:
(1) Someone may have collected huge sums and bought cheap, unbranded MADE IN CHINA device that has a very high failure rate, reminiscent of the failed CCTV project.
(2) INEC technician must have been compromised to derail the device and make it appear as though it was natural either through programming or fouling the device with salty water, for example.
(3) Someone may have jammed the signal (note that alarm was raised about an Isreali working on the project
PDP GRAND PLAN
(4) Bomb blast in Enugu, president was unperturbed because he has a pre knowledge. The bomb was meant to cause a scare and allow PDP through the collusion of INEC to move the collation center to private homes and hotels. Signature on BLANK result sheets at polling unit and then award MARKS to GEJ in the comfort of their homes.
It is sad that politics especially, non rational politicking tends to numb rationality and reason.
Enough concern was raised to high heavens on the challenges that may befall the new and untested tool and the dangers it portends for an underdeveloped society such as ours, but politics and partisanship numbed all the nerves for objective rationalism.
God help Nigeria.
“NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT” That is GEJ’s failure yet again. PDP did not want Card Reader because they feared they would not be able to rig. The failure of the card readers somehow appears to be a “BLESSING” to PDP. One wonders if INEC technicians were not compromised by $$$$$ to program “SOME” of the devices to fail ESPECIALLY in SS and SE. IF indeed the card reader is an “EMBARRASSMENT” like the PDP claims, then GEJ should investigate the incident as soon as elections are over to unravel why so much embarrassment was caused.
READ MY LIPS: CARD READERS ARE GOOD FOR US AND FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE SANCTITY OF OUR ELECTORAL CHOICE. THOSE WHO HATE IT TO HIGH HEAVENS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SACRED TO THEIR PANTS THAT THEIR PLOTS TO RIG WILL BE UNCOVERED! BY THE WAY, HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS ABOUT ONE ALIYU BABANGIDA, OUTGOING GOVERNOR OF NIGER STATE? LEARNT HE LOST HIS SENATORIAL BID TO THE APC’s LESS KNOWN CANDIDATE WITHOUT THE TRACKING DEVICE OF THE CARD READER, ONLY GOD KNOWS THE KIND OF GOVERNMENT MAGIC THAT WILL HAVE ALTERED THE FIGURES ALONG THE WAY IN HIS FAVOUR! SAME MANNER AS BODE GEORGE, MUSILIU OBANIKORO, GANI ADAMS, JIMI AGBAJE LOST AT THEIR VERY, VERY POLLING BOOTH AREA! SAME NARRATIVES ARE REPLAYED IN SOME APC CONTROLLED STATES WHERE SOME OF THE TITANS LOST THEIR BASE! GOES TO SHOW THAT CARD-READERS ARE PARTY-BLIND, WHEN DOING THEIR DUTY! SO FORWARD MARCH WITH CARD-READERS! IT CAN READ THE MINDS OF CROOKS AND DENY THEM FIELD OF PLAY! NO THAT’S SOME GOOD NEWS WE CAN ALL USE! GOD BLESS NIGERIA!
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