Professor Attahiru Jega, who served as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stated that the commission’s database may be hacked.
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Jega praised the electoral body’s level of preparedness in relation to issues surrounding INEC’s preparations for the Saturday elections, but he added that he cannot guarantee that the commission’s database will not be hacked.
He added,
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“You see, nobody can guarantee that a database won’t be hacked in this day and age unless the database is offline.
When we held the elections in 2015, our database was not accessible online. However, it must now be conducted online, particularly in light of the issue of electronic results transmission.
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“However, people use databases all over the world and they are relatively safe to use because effective cyber-security systems are now deployed.”
Jega made the revelation that INEC had confirmed that their databases had excellent cyber security. In addition,
“In addition, INEC had consistently stated that they have the best cyber security for their databases because they are aware of the political terrain. They’ve done their best, and we have to believe that.
“It doesn’t mean it will be 100% secure, but I know that anyone who uses a database also uses a security option that almost nobody knows about.”
Additionally, Jega stated that the government’s current Naira note shortage was ill-timed and a poor decision. He added,
“Based on my experience, cash is required because we deployed 750,000 ad-hoc staff when I conducted the election in 2015. Additionally, this group of employees is required to spend the night at the Registration Area Centre (RAC).
They will also be present at their various polling locations, possibly from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. or even later. Therefore, they require nourishment. Because there are most likely no POS or ATMs to withdraw from, all of these people will require cash.
Therefore, INEC’s operational readiness on election day depends on having enough cash. Therefore, the cashless policy is premature.