The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) received N1.47 billion to replace and maintain computer servers for use during the 2019 general elections, Premium Times NG reports.
The newspaper reported that it is not clear though how the servers, which store computer data, were used during the polls. But the finding raises fresh concerns over the commission’s recent claim it had no server for the elections.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar had insisted that results on the server proved he defeated President Muhammadu Buhari.
The former vice president’s claim has triggered off debate on whether the INEC operated a central computer database that received election results in the 2019 presidential election.
The electoral commission declared Buhari winner of the February 16 election, but Abubakar, his main challenger, has rejected the decision, insisting he won the election.
The commission, however, countered Abubakar’s claims and has denied transmitting election results electronically or saving them on a server.
But newsheadline247 understands that the commission requested N2,27 billion for the servers but got N1.47 billion from the federal government according to details of INEC’s budget for the 2019 elections revealed by Premium Times.
It is not clear whether these servers were used for the elections, or whether election results were transmitted electronically.
INEC insists it did not send results electronically to a server, but some ad hoc staff used during the polls have claimed they were instructed to send the results to a “central server”.
A spokesperson for the commission, Festus Okoye, told the newspaper that the budget for servers was made in anticipation that President Buhari would sign the amended Electoral Act to allow electronic transfer of voting results.
He said the commission will at the appropriate time explain to Nigerians how it expended the money it got for servers and the entire huge N143.5 billion budget it got for the polls.
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