Lai Mohammed

INEC deliberately withheld uploading presidential election results on IReV – Lai Mohammed
INEC had come under fire over its inability to upload results immediately on its result viewing portal during the presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25 February.
ByPremium TimesandAgency Report April 4, 2023 Reading Time: 4 mins read

The electoral commission, INEC, deliberately withheld the real-time upload of presidential election results from polling units, information minister Lai Mohammed said, according to a report by the government-owned News Agency of Nigeria.

Mr Mohammed said INEC’s decision to withhold the upload was because of a suspected cyberattack.

“INEC, suspecting cyberattack, withheld the uploading of the results in order to preserve the integrity of the data,” he said.

Mr Mohammed’s claim is, however, different from what INEC told Nigerians a day after the 25 February election. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the commission had told Nigerians that its failure to upload the results was due to technical glitches and not any form of sabotage or cyberattack.

“Consequently, the Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that the challenges are not due to any intrusion or sabotage of our systems, and that the IReV remains well-secured,” INEC spokesperson Festus Okoye said then.


The failure by INEC to upload the results of the election in real-time as it repeatedly promised Nigerians is one of the bases upon which two opposition candidates are challenging the results of the election, won by Bola Tinubu of the ruling party, APC.

Lai Mohammed’s Claim
Mr Mohammed gave the government’s position in Washington DC, United States, during his official engagements with some international media organisations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the minister is in Washington to engage with international media organisations and Think tanks on the just-concluded 2023 polls.


It also reports that the minister has so far engaged respectively with the “Washington Post”, Voice of America, Associated Press and Foreign Policy Magazine.

INEC had come under fire over its inability to upload results immediately on its Result Viewing portal during the presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25 February.


Mr Mohammed said the controversy was generated because of the inability of INEC to upload the results of the presidential election in real-time.

He said the controversy was unnecessary though it had been the fulcrum of the argument of the critics of the election.

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He, however, said the conclusion by the opposition was based on ignorance of the role and functions of IREV.

He said IREV, a platform whereby election results at the polling level are uploaded, was not a tool for the collation of election results or to transmit results electronically.

Mr Mohammed explained that under Nigerian laws, the management of election results is manual and the court has ruled that INEC has the exclusive right to determine the mode of election, its collation and transmission.





“What happened on the 25th of February was that INEC observed that the results of the presidential election were not being viewed,” the minister said.

“INEC, suspecting cyberattack, withheld the uploading of the results in order to preserve the integrity of the data.

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“It immediately proceeded to float an alternative platform while asking its technicians to investigate what happened to its original portal.”

Mr Mohammed explained further that it took up till 9 p.m. for the alternative portal to start working.

He said as soon as the original portal started working, the results were viewed from the two platforms.

No fewer than four out of the 18 political parties in Nigeria are currently challenging the results of the presidential election, alleging failure of INEC to upload them on its portal, IREV, and other irregularities.

INEC had on 1 March declared Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election.

Among the candidates challenging the results are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party. They have since filed their petitions at the Presidential Election Tribunal.

Speaking further on the upload of election results, the minister said “It is unfortunate that this is what the opposition are relying on to say the elections were rigged.

“So far, none of the political parties has come out to say that what is on Form EC8A is different from what was uploaded on IREV.”

Mr Mohammed said the allegations of fraud being bandied by the opposition and naysayers did not add up.

Speaking on delay in delivering election materials to certain areas, the minister said it was difficult in a country as diverse and complex as Nigeria for election materials to arrive at the same time everywhere.

He said with 176,846 polling units scattered all over the country with different topography, it would be difficult to deliver the materials simultaneously.

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“In some areas, you need to use donkeys, human portals, boats to access some of these difficult areas.

“We also know the challenge of an unanticipated cash crunch that slowed down logistic movements.

“The redesigning of the naira did not help matters because some of the people who transported the materials insisted on cash payment which was not available,” he said.

Mr Mohammed said the police report identified pockets of violence scattered all over the country but they were not substantial enough to discredit the polls.

Quoting the police report, the minister said there were 489 cases of electoral infractions during the election and 781 electoral offenders that would be charged in court.

In his analysis of the report, the minister said it was a ratio of one infraction in over 300 polling units which was not sufficient to void the elections.

President Buhari has delivered on credible polls
Mr Mohammed said President Muhammadu Buhari has delivered on his pledge to leave behind a legacy of free, fair and credible elections in the conduct of 2023 polls.

He said in fulfilment of the president’s pledge to restore sanity to the electoral process, he resolved that he would not confer a special advantage on any political party, including the APC, his own party, during the election.

He said during the past elections, the president ensured that nobody used the security agencies to rig the election in his favour but created a level-playing ground for the elections to take place.

“A proof of this resolution is that the president’s party lost the presidential election in Katsina, his home state.

“Equally, the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, lost in his state, Lagos, while the Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Adamu, lost in Nasarawa State to the Labour Party.

READ ALSO: INEC to conduct supplementary elections in over 2,000 polling units across 24 states (FULL LIST)
“The Director-General of the Campaign Organisation of our party also lost to PDP in Plateau state.

“Nothing gives this election more credence than those facts because there was no rigging in states where our bigwigs come from,” he said.

The minister added that APC lost in the four states with the highest number of votes in the elections – Katsina, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos even when they were the ruling party’s controlled states.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/591712-inec-deliberately-withheld-uploading-presidential-election-results-on-irev-lai-mohammed.html

Is it what the electoral law and its guidelines says

After votes are cast and counted, results should be withheld

APC is already indicting INEC thereby making the opposition petitions at the tribunal easy

The Truth shall set Nigeria free. No matter how lies travel truth will always catch up and overtake it.

God bless Nigerian Youths
God bless Peter Obi.

Lai Mohammed, Fani Kayode, Reno Omokri, Bayo Ononuga, Buhari himself...these guys are a disgrace to democracy and sanity. Very shameless fellows. Pathetic.


Lai Mohammed is a shameless grandpa, sorry to say. He has been in hibernation since. Only God knows why he has resumed his balablu talk. Every time he talks, he utters nonsense. What is the nonsense he just said? Makes me wonder whether any of our rulers attended a secondary school because they obviously have challenges with comprehension.


APC was shouting "go to court", now PO went to court. Yet, it's slander upon slander. A day can't go by that an APC member doesn't try to wet his pants concerning Peter Obi. He wo comes to equity must come with clean hands.


The debt profile under Mr Integrity has grown to more than 100 trillion Naira, and the corruption has grown proportionately. These guys borrow and squander like there's no tomorrow. 10 firetrucks were purchased for 12b. And nobody is saying anything. What the heck?

Just when you think these people can't do any more stupid shit, they shock you and prove they are irredeemable

You can't defend Thîefnubu and APC without sounding like a rejected psychiatric patient. Now, Inec is under fire for failing to adhere strictly to its own rules.

There came an old man trying to defend broad daylight criminality.

Mr Mohammed’s claim is, however, different from what INEC told Nigerians a day after the 25 February election. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the commission had told Nigerians that its failure to upload the results was due to technical glitches and not any form of sabotage or cyberattack.

“Consequently, the Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that the challenges are not due to any intrusion or sabotage of our systems, and that the IReV remains well-secured,” INEC spokesperson Festus Okoye said then.

Hehehe! Hear the senseless attempt the legendary lying machine and Goebbels of the APC government -Lai Mohammed is using trying to defend the criminality of INEC?

cc: Sarrki, Afamed, Ihordspy, Seunmsg, Eriggs, NLpoliceman, , NgeneUkwenu

When a minister .. Federal government and a strong member of Apc .. starts making excuses or INEc ..

People there’s a problem..


Apc is gone already

Tinubu will return that stolen document he deceitful bought

Na time ..

Just beacuse of a N5230 petition filed in the court by the true winner of the election

Old men don dey sing different song

Mr.Yakubu...we couldnt upload due to some technical glitches not any attack

Lai Mohd....Inec deliberately delay the uploading due to cyberattack

Yea Daddy is a religious war

APC is an evil political party that all hands must be on deck for us to get rid of them. The cankerworm that wants to eat the very fabrics that holds the nation. God forbid the evil political party.

Ofunaofu:
Is it what the electoral law and its guidelines says. After votes are cast and counted, results should be withheld.APC is already indicting INEC thereby making the opposition petitions at the tribunal easy

Just imagine! This is just the senseless of anything APC It is really nauseating.

If Cyber attack was to be an excuse, why did you budget N300 for Cyber Elections?

Why not just plan some simple election of 90bn or so?

You see something about lie, it is never stable, it keeps changing with time, place, condition and so on, but the truth will always remain the same in all conditions and situations.

Think man talks like the fool he is.

Ahem!

Confession TIME!

After withholding it they now manipulated the results.
Is this not supposed to be used as evidence in court.

And stole votes to add to their's

orohbiro:
Yea Daddy is a religious war

Already stale

Cyber attack would have been better than 'INEC ATTACK'.
What a bloody liar.
Na only presidential election the 'cyber' fit attack?
This area-fada of a M0r0n thinks he is addressing agbado farmers in his LGA.

They've brought back this lying machine from the pits of hell..

Old papa wey nor get shame. . . telling lies like a petty thief.

I voted for Peter Obi because I know he's competent, capable and compassionate

Lai Mohammed, INEC and other person or group of persons who circumvented and truncated the will of the people will never know Peace all the days of their lives.

Very irritating!

The way APC members are avoiding this thread is alarming.
No be me talk am, na Lai Muhammad

Weybuhari:
The way APC members are avoiding this thread is alarming.
No be me talk am, na Lai Muhammad

Your noticed too?

No Ihordspy Leoking LegendHero Helinus Throwback and the rest of the packs.

nlfpmod fp