The Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Engr. Ubale Maska and the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Adeleke Adewolu has said that only 50 per cent of the country is covered electronically.
They stated this when lead a team of officials of the Commission to a hearing by the Federal House of Representatives on Friday on the capacity of the Commission to transmit election results from everywhere in the country electronically.
Engr.Maska, who spoke on behalf of the team, told House of Representatives members that less than 50 per cent of the country enjoys 3G Internet coverage for which electronic transmission of results could rely on.
He said as at 2018, when the Commission carried out a survey of 109,000 polling units, of the country’s 119,000 polling units was covered.
He said the surveyed polling unit areas were covered mostly by the 3G and 2G networks, which represents about 50.3 per cent of the entire country.
He said about 49.7 per cent of the national spread did not have Internet coverage, which will be required for real-time electronic transmission of electoral results.
When asked by the House if the 2G technology could be used for electronic transmission of results, Maska said though he wished the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was around to answer, however, only 3G could transmit results effectively.
The House had, on Thursday, July 15, 2021, invited the NCC to brief it on the nation’s network coverage before continuing debate on the contentious provision of electronic transmission of results during elections.
