We'll monitor 2019 elections through satellite - INEC

INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu during his visit to the the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), Abimbola Alale, in Abuja said there's going to be a change in the manner the Commission handles Nigeria’s elections in 2019.

INEC said it would deploy satellite to remote areas where 3G and 4G networks are not available, to monitor the 2019 general elections.

“In continuation of consultations with national agencies in the telecommunications sector, INEC considers this interactive meeting critical to the success of our commitment to deepening of the application of technology to elections. While we appreciate the tremendous reach of the telecommunications operators, we are equally aware that some of our Polling Units are located in places where 3G and 4G networks are not available for real time electronic transmission of results" he said.

He added that “It is for this reason that we wish to leverage on the capacity of NIGCOMSAT to provide a wide range of telecommunication services. In particular, your broadband service offers a tremendous flexible bandwidth capacity that can be deployed almost anywhere and in a short period of time, including hard-to-reach and temporary locations. These are invaluable to the work of INEC. Working with you and in partnership with the NCC as well as the telecommunications operators, we believe the challenges to the seamless transmission of results are not insurmountable We are similarly aware that NIGCOMSAT has the capacity for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting, multimedia, video streaming, Hotspot event services and indoor and outdoor electronic message displays. These services are invaluable to our work on voter education, sensitisation and mobilisation for elections”.