The National Agency for Science and Technology Infrastructure (NASENI) on Monday said it had developed solar powered electronic voting machine system for collating results to ensure free and fair elections.
The NASENI Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Sani Haruna, who presented the machine to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu in his office in Abuja, said that the machine could tackle current electoral challenges.
According to him, the machine has made provision for real time election results collation as voting progresses and provision for Diaspora voting.
“The solar powered electronic voting system developed is built on the gains of the present Independent National Electoral Commission voting system.
“A home grown technology that permits federal, state, local government elections to be conducted in one day with a voter spending between 50 to 90 seconds to cast his/ her votes for all executives and legislative elections.
“It eliminates ballot box snatching, multiple thumb printing, failure of card reader, alteration of data (polling result) between polling units and collation centres.
“It incorporates facial recognition, radio frequency identification device options of voters identification in addition to thumb print and card reader,“ he said.
Haruna said that the system would permit real time display of results as voting progressed, while eliminating human errors if the electoral body so desired.
He added that the agency had demonstrated the capacity to develop indigenous technological solutions to the nation’s problems and intervened in many aspects of national lives.
“These include the design of hydroelectric turbine, solar modules of various wattages, tricycles, NASENI motorcycle, high efficient energy science and engineering laboratory equipment,’’ he said.
Others are rotary furnace, farm implements, crop processing, fruits, meat and vegetable dryers among others.
The minister commended NASENI for the production of solar powered electronic voting system.
Onu described the feat as “a huge national success’’ to actualise President Muhammed Buhari promise to ensure free and fair elections in the country.
He charged the agency to see how the devices could be made smaller and more effective to meet the international standard.
