APC-South Africa Chapter Advocates e-Voting in Nigeria
The chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), South Africa chapter, Prof. Legend Asuelime, says it is high time Nigeria embraced electronic voting for a robust and more inclusive electoral system.
Asuelime stated this in Nigeria during an interaction with journalists on Sunday in Benin, Edo State.
According to him, the role of the diaspora members in shaping the political direction of the country cannot be ignored.
Nigerians in diaspora, he said, were involved in the electoral processes beginning from the campaign to balloting.
He said they were aggressively engaging in campaign for e-voting, saying he had interfaced with Dr Abike Dabiri, who is the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on the matter.
He expressed the hope that President Bola Tinubu, whom he referred to as a diasporan before he ventured into politics, would work to actualize the dream.
Asuelime said he formed part of the Presidential Campaign Council that prosecuted the success of President Tinubu at the last election.
“The diaspora do come home for elections. We were here in the last election. We came here to vote.
“We also came here to mobilize; we mobilized people from the diaspora; we chartered flight, and we came.
“I will tell you one thing: for each diaspora that is abroad, he has a lot of family members at home, and he is their bread winner.
“So they control certain rooms, and they can tell them the direction to vote. So we brought the whole lot of them and they were here in the country to vote and to also mobilize others to vote.
“We also participated during the campaign period. We formed part of the Presidential Campaign Council.
“We should understand that the president also had a series of town hall meetings across the world in the UK and South Africa. I hosted the South African meeting,” Prof. Legend Asuelimehe said.
Identifying True Nigerians Abroad
Prof. Legend Asuelimehe noted that identifying true Nigerians in diaspora was a major challenge.
“I think the first thing we need to get together is to ensure that the means of identification for Nigerians is actually finalized.
“For instance, the National Identity Number (NIN) and Nigeria’s Identity Card will become automated so that wherever you are, if you swipe it, your vote goes in.
“So, it will become a point in Nigeria when the voter’s card will not be different from your national identity card.
“This will also curb double voting because once you use your national identity card once, it records that this person has voted,” he said.
On the European Union’s (EU) report, the APC chairman said there was an agenda behind the report, hence Nigeria should not bother about it.
Speaking on the 2024 Governorship Election in Edo State, the APC chairman said the most interesting thing to him was to ensure that the APC returns to power in the State.
This, he said, was more important to him than his personal ambition.
He called on the State chapter of the party to take the members in diaspora serious and understand their role in changing the narrative of politics in the State, as regards the governorship election.
NAN
