By Emeka Aginam

While calling for transparency in the 2010 general elections, the Nigerian Computer Society, NCS has  given the  Independent Electoral Commission, INEC one week ultimatum to redresses some identified lapses in the adopted processes for the registration of voters.

lProfessor Charles Uwadia, National President, Nigeria Computer Society

To achieve best practice in 2010 elections using IT, the umbrella body representing all IT professionals in Nigeria at a press conference last Friday in Lagos among other things, demanded the following from INEC

*That all personnel carrying out core IT professional duties in the Commission (INEC) must  be registered professionals as stipulated in Act 49 of 1993;

*That all persons to interface and operate the DDCM (Direct Data Capture Machines) MUST be trained and certified by professional institutions registered by CPN;
*That all  contracting firms who are not registered with CPN should have their contracts revoked; and That subsequently, only registered members of the computer profession should be considered for jobs involving computing machinery.

The NCS President, Professor Charles Uwadia while listing conditions for best practices in e-voting noted that the processionals have demanded  that INEC redresses these identified lapses within one week of this statement as  failure to comply will attract legal action on their  part for non-compliance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as stipulated in Act 49 of 1993. Accordingly, the NCS, Uwadia said, has  requested INEC to be transparent and fully unfold its strategies for deploying IT for the entire electoral process so that professionals could offer advice where necessary.

Earlier, the NCS had visited INEC few months ago on how best to deploy IT in the forthcoming elections where a Memorandum of Understanding should be executed to serve as basis for further relationship.

While insisting that  all personnel carrying out core IT professional duties in INEC must be registered professionals as stipulated in Act 49 of 1993 , he disclosed that both parties reiterated the need to forge ahead in the Commission’s  efforts at using IT to deliver credible elections in 2011. The essence of the MOU, he said  was  to have a platform with which to assist INEC in the aforementioned areas.

“However, since the submission of the MOU to the INEC headquarters in Abuja in August 2010, nothing has been heard from its officials since then. We have made efforts to get a feedback on why the MOU has not been executed but all to no avail. From information gathered through unofficial sources, it appears some INEC officials have the feeling the NCS was coming to take over all matters related to IT from them.

“This feeling is far from the truth as attested to by the relationship we have so far had with INEC over the years; NCS is not a contracting body. We seek no gratification or privileges in our relationship with INEC. We are a body of professionals, and our interest is to ensure that professionalism is at the core in deploying IT on all electoral matters in Nigeria.

“In fulfillment of this mandate, the Nigeria Computer Society collaborates and partners with government agencies in promoting and canvassing IT-driven solutions. The importance and enormous role of INEC in the nation’s democratic process are perhaps well known to all of us. It is our belief in NCS that many of the challenges facing INEC are best addressed through a well-thought-out, co-ordinated application and deployment of IT. It is also our belief that only corporate bodies and individuals with requisite skills and expertise can successfully work with INEC in this regards.”

Meanwhile, while NCS was  awaiting INEC’s assent to the MOU, Professor Uwadia disclosed that a number of activities including anointment of an ICT Consultant /Adviser,  Contracting three firms to deliver 132, 000 units Direct Data Capture Machines (DDCM) for the forthcoming compilation of fresh voters registers, and conducting of training for personnel who will use the DDCM have been carried out.

“We have since discovered that the ICT Consultant / Adviser is not a registered member of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN). We have also observed that two of the contracting firms are not registered with the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).

“The  crux of the matter here therefore is the critical issue of computer professionalism as regulated under Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) Act 49 of 1993. That is the law of the federation,” Prof. Uwadia who has been preaching local content noted.

It will be recalled that in the past two years, NCS and INEC have been involved in discussions on how best to deploy the capabilities of information technology towards assisting the electoral process in Nigeria.

Specifically, the two bodies held a retreat in Asaba, Delta State from 13th to 16th November, 2008, while a follow-up retreat was held in Kaduna, Kaduna State from 30th June to 2nd July, 2009 to promote electronic voting through consensus building by involving major stakeholders in order to sensitize the Nigerian public on the need for the adoption of electronic voting in future elections.

The essence of this engagement is to ensure that INEC is well guided in deploying IT to the electoral process so that ultimately results of future elections in Nigeria are seen to be accurate and truly reflect the wishes of the electorates.