By Prince Osuagwu
Zinox Chairman Mr Leo-Stan Ekeh, has flaunted the capacity enhancement his company has consistently carried out in the last three years as a confidence to deliver on good time, the INEC e-equipment needed for the electronic registration and voting in the 2011 general elections if he was awarded the contract.

Leo Satn

Ekeh said that it was in anticipation of such patriotic assignments that his Zinox Group has been enhancing its capacity in the last 3 years in spite of the global down turn and can truly assure INEC that his company is bigger than most of these foreign companies flooding Nigeria with unverifiable claims and no cultural responsibility.

The Zinox Chairman said that the INEC DDC machines can only be delivered by a company with Manufacturing, Distribution and Integration facility with at least 75% control of resources internally to meet the eight weeks deadline.

For him, Zinox has all these in Nigeria, South Africa, Europe and Asia including a 14_branch_local nationwide office network to facilitate support. He said that, in addition, Zinox already has obtained written commitments from Intel Corporation, Microsoft and No1. Webcam and Finger Print Scanner manufacturers in the world to deliver the last unit of product by the 5th week complete with an after sales support package.

He noted that these companies helped Zinox in 2006 to intervene for INEC within 10 days and now that he has obtained these commitments proactively hoping that the company may be considered as there was no time to experiment with the unknown at this critical stage.

He added that “this is not a a business for brokers and commission takers, it is a litmus test for Nigeria to get her acts right. We can not afford to fail with this sort of project, because it gives the country a total loss and little options as well, if we experiment and get disappointed. I think 2006 bore enough lessons”.

However Ekeh expressed confidence in the quality and integrity of the Prof. Attahiru Jega led INEC, and believed they would be guided by wisdom in their decisions.

Ekeh made these assertions in Lagos, when executive members of the Joint Action Committee for ICT Awareness and Development, JACITAD, a non governmental organisation which serves as umbrella body of ICT media professionals and other stakeholders in Nigeria, paid a courtesy call at Zinox headquarters to congratulate the management on its recent rating as the best selling laptops in Nigeria by the International Data Corporation, IDC ranking.

The JACITAD Executive reminded Ekeh that having declared during launch that Zinox would make Nigeria a force to be reckoned with in Information Technology, it was also good to encourage the company as it fulfils the promise bit by bit.

The group said given the scope and quality of jobs rendered both at the private and public sectors as rationalized by the IDC ranking, Zinox had delivered on that promise, adding that the company’s achievement reassured Nigeria’s youths that the country can participate in the sharing of emerging global wealth generated by knowledge.

Ekeh was lured into discussing the INEC offer when the group sought his opinon on the capacity of a local company to deliver the INEC DDC machines on time.

Responding to the question, Ekeh said the DDC machine was a Zinox equipment in the first place, adding that it was produced when the company was invited to intervene to save the voters registration in 2006.

He said that Zinox had factories in Nigeria, Taiwan and China; a logistics arms in Europe, and Research and Development arms in Taiwan and Nigeria, which can give his company edge to deliver these units within seven weeks from date of confirmed order.

He added: “the Zinox Group can match the pricing of any foreign competitor, if given a chance. We are a Nigerian company and this is not a sin. We have rescued INEC and major national projects in the recent past, we don’t blow our trumpet because we pay attention to only the science of business and not the politics.”

For him another source of worry which many people have not considered was delivering the products into Nigeria at this time of the year that there is huge traffic out of Asia. “You need to charter about fourteen 747 cargo Aircraft to deliver these units to Nigeria at a tight season like now in Asia, but for us we have made waterproof arrangement with our logistics arms in Holland and the UK in case we are considered”.

He noted that this project demanded corporate integrity at this last hour and not cash, advising the Chairman and Management of INEC to look inwards as their success should be total success with Nigerian content..

However Ekeh urged the JACITAD Executive to mobilize its members and redirect them into giving support to INEC at this critical period to ensure success in the elections, instead of criticising every move the commission makes. “this is a time for solidarity and I challenge you to mobilize your men and give Nigeria the needed support at this hour we want to get things right.

If you get close to the new INEC, you would understand that they mean well. Please encourage them and not harp on whatever mistakes they make. They are also human beings” he added.