…says Nigeria not yet ready for real-time transmission of results

President and Chief Executive of the Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC), Sir Victor Oluwafemi, has said Nigeria’s electoral reforms must be based on infrastructure readiness, not political rhetoric, warning that low connectivity in rural areas makes real-time electronic transmission of results premature.

Oluwafemi said this in a statement on Monday on the debate over electronic voting and result transmission.

According to him, Nigeria is not structurally prepared for instant transmission because elections still depend largely on manual voting, counting and physical documentation at polling units.

He said without stable electricity, nationwide telecom coverage, cyber-resilient systems, uniform training and legal clarity, real-time transmission remains “aspirational rather than operational”.

The ADSC boss warned that enforcing it nationwide could disenfranchise rural voters, expose the system to cyber risks and increase post-election litigation.

“Even advanced democracies do not prioritise speed over auditability. Trust is built on verification, not immediacy,” he said.

Oluwafemi added that electoral reform should be phased, with infrastructure and verification coming before automation and visibility.