“We’ve Learned Our Lessons” – INEC Admits Mistakes with Technology in 2023 Polls, Speaks on Edo Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has acknowledged mistakes made during the 2023 elections, but assures Nigerians that it has learned from its experiences and is prepared for the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.

In an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, stated that the commission has corrected glitches that marred previous elections.

He said technology, although helpful, is not foolproof and can experience downtime, citing examples of global tech companies like Facebook and Instagram.

Oyekanmi said, “Technology is good; we have no doubt about it. It has helped the work of INEC; but I always say that technology is not a silver bullet; it does not solve all problems.

“Take the pictures all around the world whether on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram. They have what they call downtime. It is a hard situation where you can’t access Facebook for 24 hours. And these are global tech companies that have what it takes not to even have glitches.

“Your phone sometimes may misbehave; That is the way it’s. Nobody plans for failure. Even the South Africa you referred to, initially they had a glitch before they were able to correct it. But people don’t report that. They just talk about what they are doing.

“We had a glitch but it was corrected. Those results are on IREV as we speak. The presidential election results are there for those who want to see.

“We are ready for the Edo election. We have learnt our lessons. This is the third governorship election we are conducting in Edo. This commissioner has the privilege to conduct the first one in 2016 and came out well. The second one 2020 came out well and now we are going for the third one.”