Posted by Stories by Josephine Lohor in Abuja on
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said that it has become expedient for the country to resort to electronic voting because such method would definitely reduce the heat experienced in the nation's electoral process.
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said that it has become expedient for the country to resort to electronic voting because such method would definitely reduce the heat experienced in the nation's electoral process.
The President who stated this when he received a delegation of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers at the State House, said Nigeria, like other countries of the world, has no alternative than to become digital in all it does as this would minimize to a great extent human and other types of errors.
Obasanjo, while justifying the appointment of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Maurice Iwu and the Minister of Education, Chinwe Nora Obaje, who are indigenes of the State, said the duo were appointed purely on merit.
He noted that 'in these days when everybody is going digital and everything is going digital, Professor Iwu is one of the experts we have in this country in that sort of area. The more we are able to take human error, either by commission or omission, away from the electoral process, the more our electoral process and results will be less controvertible and controversial".
The President, while decrying the fact that a lot of Nigerians still believe that some ministries are much better than others, however said the Ministry of Education is very important 'because if we have to talk about the future of this country, you have to talk about education and the way our children are brought up and for that it would appear that as for now, the Ministry of Education is key".
While advising that people in government should not be praised for their work which ideally they should do in line with the provisions of the Constitution, Obasanjo noted that 'those of us in political offices, while we do what we must do, we really do not deserve to be thanked because by virtue of our offices, we are expected to perform our duties as stated in the Constitution and secondly to enhance unity, development and progress of our nation.
'Your sons and daughters were given such offices purely on merit so they should be the ones that should be commended and congratulated. As you know, for an officer to become a Major-General it would have taken many years, so if an officer has gone through the steps like exams, courses, then he has been sifted through the process and what he gets by virtue of his merit, he should be commended and not the Government", he added as a reply to the promotion of an indigene of Imo State to the rank of a Major-General.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the traditional rulers, Eze Christopher I. Ilomuanya, while commending the President for 'achieving greater height in national unity, political freedom, social interaction within and outside the country, moral rejuvenation and economic emancipation", asked that definite roles be assigned for traditional rulers in the constitution.
He added that 'with the deepest humility, your Excellency is requested to approve the formation of a National Forum of Traditional Rulers. This will strengthen mutual trust, understanding and much desired peace and unity of the country. The advantages cannot be overstressed".