The lawmaker representing Owan Federal Constituency, (APC -Edo) Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, has attributed the controversies surrounding the electronic voting and electronic transmission of election results to external and internal forces within the national assembly.
Ihonvbere stated this while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after deliverying his mid-term report to members of his constituency in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo.
Ihonvbere said the argument for and against the choice of electronic voting and transmission of results at the floor of the national assembly exuded the beauty of democracy and that at the end, majority won the day.
“That is the beauty of democracy. We can’t all agree. I support electronic transmission.
” I know that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has the capacity for electronic transmission of results.
“Unless INEC wants to say those card readers they sent to certain parts of the country are for decoration in which case all the elections done through INEC should be cancelled, but, it is not.
“The card reader uses a SIM and in the over 190, 000 polling booths, there were card readers using SIM, people are writing NECO, people are writing WAEC, they are doing Computer Based Tests but Nigeria must move forward.
“When are we going to grow and agree that where we are, we should leave there. Other countries are moving forward, Rwanda, Ghana, around us.
“So, I support electronic transmission but there is politics within and outside the national assembly and majority they say, carries the day”, he said.
On the proposed University of Sports that is to be sited at Afuze, the lawmaker said it has passed the third readings and expressed optimism that president Muhammadu Buhari would give his consent to it.
“I don’t know why the president will not sign because this is a plus to him to be the one who established the first university of sports.
“We have hundreds of sports men and women who have retired who will be ready to use this institution to train our athletes, we are not doing well in sports.
“How many events are we going for the next Olympics? Very clearly, Nigeria has gone down. How many Nigerians are playing in the top four teams of the premium league now.
“In the days of Okocha, Kano and others, those days have gone. We are not breaking any new world records. The federal university of sports, Afuze will help Nigeria to do that.
“Moreover, sport is now big business, big business. The UK, they are making billions every year from sports not just endorsements but we are lossing money.
“People are not watching our national Leagues anymore. So, in the side of business, in the part of physical health, in the part of intellectual development, in the part of building capable athletes to represent Nigeria to win laurels, the president will sign it.
“We have already had the facilities here. It is not going to cost money to do it. It is these same facilities that Ogbemudia to used to produce top rates athletes for Nigeria”, he said.
The vote of confidence was however passed on him for bringing federal government presence to his constituency.
It was moved by Edo State House of Assembly member-elect, Henry Okaka and was seconded by Hon. Fred Omoigberai, a former lawmaker of Edo house of assembly.
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