WHETHER or not the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, made use of a central server in storing poll results for the 2019 general election has recently been a subject of heated controversy.

In a petition sent to the presidential election tribunal in March, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claimed its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, defeated Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the ruling party, by 1.6 million votes. This information, the party said, was retrieved from the electoral commission’s server, which has the authentic results.

INEC, however, replied that the numbers peddled by the PDP were fabricated and said it did not adopt electronic transmission of collation of results.

Atiku, in April, gave the tribunal what he called the “unique MAC address and Microsoft product ID of the INEC server”.

“The figures and votes were transmitted to the first Respondent’s Presidential Result’s Server 1 and thereafter aggregated in INEC_PRES_RSLT_SRV2019, whose Physical Address or unique Mac Address is 94-57-A5-DC-64-B9 with Microsoft Product ID 00252-7000000000-AA535,” he said.

“The 1st Respondent specifically denies the existence of electronic transmission of results as it is unknown to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of the elections, 2019,” it said in its response.

Following an application to the tribunal by the PDP for an order compelling INEC to grant access to the server, the agency maintained that it does not have any server.

“They are asking us to bring something we do not have,” Yunus Usman, its lawyer, said, though this position contradicts statements made before the election by INEC’s commissioners.

Claims have been circulated suggesting that INEC spent “millions of naira” on a server. In this fact-check, The ICIR takes a look at documents drafted by the commission itself, which confirm that it intended to procure various servers for the 2019 election and that, in fact, it got funded for those procurements.

A little background

President Buhari had, in July and September, written to the National Assembly requesting for N242 billion as virement and supplementary budget to fund the 2019 general election. Out of this amount, N189 billion was allocated to INEC while the rest went to the Nigeria Police, Civil Defence, and other security agencies.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations on the Virement Request headed by Muhammed Danjuma Goje, in its interim report, recommended that N144.7 billion be transferred from the Special Intervention Programme recurrent budget and N44.2 billion from the programme’s capital budget.

Adding this to the N45 billion recurrent expenses already approved for INEC in the 2018 budget, it meant INEC’s total budget for 2018 was N234.5 billion.

In October, the National Assembly approved the N242 billion supplementary budget as sent by the president—only changing the source of the funding from the legislators’ special projects votes to the Special Intervention Programme.

Does the supplementary budget provide for servers?

Yes, it does. INEC’s supplementary budget was made public by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), a nonprofit committed to facilitating legislative advocacy and access to public policies.

According to the document (archived here), INEC proposed to spend N143.5 billion on 209 items. Out of that amount, N2.27 billion was budgeted for server-related procurement items, with budget code 230808. The purpose of a computer server is simply to store, retrieve, and send information to other computers connected to a network.

N1.37 billion was budgeted for nationwide replacement of servers for 25 states and National Data Centre, N99.7 million for an upgrade of the server version of OpenVR for compatibility with new Dell server, and N800 million for the migration of voter registration database from MySQL Open Source to OracleDB (both database administration services).


INEC also budgeted N157.5 million for the renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure, with budget code 230709.

Though the National Assembly sub-committees on INEC and electoral matters, headed by Suleiman Nazif and Aishatu Dukku, recommended the reduction of the some of the proposed amounts, the proposed budget was eventually passed in full.

Not only was the approval absolute, but the office of the Accountant-General reports in its “Capital Performance of the Budget” document that all of the amount (N188.9 billion) was released to INEC and spent by it.

The plan for servers predates 2018 budgeting process

It is worth mentioning that the word server is likewise used four times in INEC’s “2017-2021 Strategic Programme of Action” (archived here).

According to the plan, the agency’s ICT department was expected to award contracts by the first quarter of each year for the upgrade of existing mail server and expansion of INEC mail system to states and local government offices.

The department was to get approval by the second quarter of 2017 and 2018 for the procurement of servers for all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It was also to upgrade the server version of Open VR for compatibility with the new Dell Server.

The renewal and maintenance of cloud infrastructure as well as the development of data management tools “for archiving election results and other electoral activities” were also provided for in the programme of action.

Conclusion

It is true that money (over N2 billion naira) for the procurement and upgrade of servers was approved for INEC by the National Assembly and it has had a longterm plan favouring the electronic storage of electoral results.

The amount was also released to the INEC and the commission reported it, as utilised. If the agency insists it does not have a server, then it has some explaining to do on how exactly it spent the relevant funds.

lalasticlala

ivandragon:
Well...

I think there is need to clarify issues here...


INEC's position is that it did not 'collate & transmit results' electronically & not that it does not have servers (I humbly stand to be corrected).

Servers in the context of this matter also covers emails, website maintenance & other internet based applications that do not necessarily have to deal with collation & transmission of election results...


So what Atiku needs to prove is that collated results were sent (transmitted) over the internet to a central system in Abuja...

sharpden:


If they did not make use of the server what prevents them from allowing the former vice president access to it?

If they didn't use the server then the guy won't find any incriminating evidence against them.

Atiku cannot prove your point without access to the server.

Rolings:
INEC never said they do not have servers, they only said they don't have election results on servers. Period.
According to the last paragraph of the above article INEC have "long term" plans to use the servers for collation of election results, meaning they currently don't use the servers for collation of election results ....their servers are only being used for normal activities just like we all have servers in our offices.... And
Electoral Act does not provide for it so INEC has no reason to use severs for collation of election results. Atikus server results are simply figments of imagination

“Specifically, Festus Keyamo (SAN), the spokesperson of the 2nd respondent, claimed in the said petition that it was the first petitioner who smuggled the data into the server.”

iAudio:


We’ve no server for Atiku to inspect, INEC tells tribunal

WHICH SERVER?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/guardian.ng/news/weve-no-server-for-atiku-to-inspect-inec-tells-tribunal/amp

Mowoe:
I went for the INEC Ad-Hoc staff training but did not participate in the conduct of the elections. I remember vividly during the training, the SPO (Supervisory Presiding Officer) rightly said after the votes had been counted, the results were to be written on the results sheet (Form EC8A, i think); and after the general conduct of the election, the results for each party were to be entered in the SCRs (Smart Card Readers). The SPO laid emphasis up on the fact that the results on paper had to tally with the SCR's.

He said after the results had been entered, the SCRs would automatically calculate the data entered,
after which the PO (Presiding Officer) would connect the SCR to the interenet by means of Data or Wifi and then transmit the results to "INEC's Server" wich is the central point for all results transmitted by SCRs. He said this is in a bid to curb electoral fraud and because whatever results was written on paper would tally with those on the SCRs, it would be impossible to manipulate results on Paper as INEC would already have the results on its "Server" which tallies with what was on paper initially.

For INEC officials to claim they do not have a server is completely false. Where did the results collated and transmitted via the SCRs go? INEC is just one compromised body, just like other 'independent Organizations' in the country.

In conclusion, INEC has a server; I doesn't matter how much they try to deny it.

Mowoe:
I went for the INEC Ad-Hoc staff training but did not participate in the conduct of the elections. I remember vividly during the training, the SPO (Supervisory Presiding Officer) rightly said after the votes had been counted, the results were to be written on the results sheet (Form EC8A, i think); and after the general conduct of the election, the results for each party were to be entered in the SCRs (Smart Card Readers). The SPO laid emphasis up on the fact that the results on paper had to tally with the SCR's.

He said after the results had been entered, the SCRs would automatically calculate the data entered,
after which the PO (Presiding Officer) would connect the SCR to the interenet by means of Data or Wifi and then transmit the results to "INEC's Server" wich is the central point for all results transmitted by SCRs. He said this is in a bid to curb electoral fraud and because whatever results was written on paper would tally with those on the SCRs, it would be impossible to manipulate results on Paper as INEC would already have the results on its "Server" which tallies with what was on paper initially.

For INEC officials to claim they do not have a server is completely false. Where did the results collated and transmitted via the SCRs go? INEC is just one compromised body, just like other 'independent Organizations' in the country.

In conclusion, INEC has a server; I doesn't matter how much they try to deny it.

sharpden:


Source: https://www.icirnigeria.org/fact-check-did-inec-receive-money-for-servers-to-store-electoral-data/

FOLYKAZE:


Take your experience to the Tribunal where it is needed. You can be called in as witness.

Mowoe:

Don't mention me if you're blinded by tribal, religious, political or whatever sentiments or if you just want to be plain stupid.

asfrank:

Thanks 4 Your detailed explanation. But I have some questions. The Election Results that Atiku claimed he got from the sever showed that all votes for the election were shared between him and Buhari, How genuine is that claim? And again from the same results, there were no canceled votes and all accredited voters voted. How are all these possible? Were the results recorded into the Card readers by the POs according to Parties that participated, in this case over 70 parties? For me these are questions that Atiku's sever results has not fully answered. Since u participated in the Process and had some knowlege have these questions been answered by their claim? Enlighten me please.

FOLYKAZE:


You were ranting a while ago about how INEC trained up their staff on how to access or transmit election results to INEC server. Why can't you go to the tribunal and tell them your silly and deceitful rhetoric?

Mowoe:


First I'm neither Igbo nor a supporter of Atiku before some tribalists start mentioning me irrationally; as a matter of fact I voted for Buhari and argued so many times in his favor in 2015.

To my point, Atiku's server results may have been falsified or the figures may have been inflated, but one thing is certain and it's the fact that there is a 'Server' and that 'Server' as far as I learned stores results transmitted. INEC has seized every opportunity to deny the fact that it has a server. Why would INEC instruct POs to transmit results if the transmitted results were only going to hang in the air? There's no need denying the existence of a 'Served' unless INEC has something to hide.

asfrank:

I think the defense strategy employed by INEC on the issue is not helping matters, but again the burden lies on Atiku to prove his case. But we are going to find out soon enough, during cross examination in the cause of the proceeding.

asfrank:

Thanks 4 Your detailed explanation. But I have some questions. The Election Results that Atiku claimed he got from the sever showed that all votes for the election were shared between him and Buhari, How genuine is that claim? And again from the same results, there were no canceled votes and all accredited voters voted. How are all these possible? Were the results recorded into the Card readers by the POs according to Parties that participated, in this case over 70 parties? For me these are questions that Atiku's sever results has not fully answered. Since u participated in the Process and had some knowlege have these questions been answered by their claim? Enlighten me please.

ivandragon:
Well...

I think there is need to clarify issues here...


INEC's position is that it did not 'collate & transmit results' electronically & not that it does not have servers (I humbly stand to be corrected).

Servers in the context of this matter also covers emails, website maintenance & other internet based applications that do not necessarily have to deal with collation & transmission of election results...


So what Atiku needs to prove is that collated results were sent (transmitted) over the internet to a central system in Abuja...


Well, let me correct you. They stated categorically that they don't have any server. Check their reply at PEPT.
I am curious to know why, INEC is lying this much. If they know Buhari won, why without rigging. Why won't they open up for probity? They are setting a very bad precedence in this country.
Fvck APC, fuvck PDP.
God bless every Nigerian who wants the country to be great legitimately and May God punish every person working against the progress of Nigeria

tuniski:


It shows results of all parties/candidates including invalid/rejected votes. What you are referencing were abridged.

asfrank:

The computation of presidential election results
filed before the elections petition tribunal by the
presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, shows that all
accredited votes cast in 33 states of the
federation were shared between him and
President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Buhari was declared the winner for a second
term of four years with 15,191,847 votes to
defeat Mr Abubakar who polled 11,262,978 votes.
The two got lion share of the 27,324,583 valid
votes recorded in the election.
Over 1.2 million votes were also voided in the
course of the election.
However, excerpts of court filings published by
PREMIUM TIMES give Mr Abubakar’s state by
state breakdown of votes which, he claims,
placed him ahead of Mr Buhari with 18,356,732
against the incumbent’s 16,741,430 votes. The
result is exclusive of figures from Rivers State.
The Flaws
Mr Abubakar’s purported result implies that no
invalid votes were recorded in the 33 states, and
none of the 71 other presidential candidates
obtained any score.
In three states; Abia, Bauchi and Cross River, the
documents show that the two candidates
collectively got votes higher than the number of
accredited voters.
Mr Abubakar claims that he obtained the results
from the server of the electoral commission,
INEC.
The document is included in the petition filed by
Mr Abubakar in a suit seeking his declaration as
the validly elected president.
The purported result shows that Mr Abubakar
defeated the incumbent president by a margin of
1.6 million votes.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has
dismissed the alleged figures as a product of the
opposition’s “hallucination.”
Mr Buhari’s campaign later accused Mr Abubakar
and the PDP of gaining illegal access to the INEC
server.
An analysis of the alleged INEC server result by
PREMIUM TIMES show that the figures given as
total accredited voters in at least 33 of the 36
states and the capital, Abuja, show a clean sweep
of the entire figures between the two major
candidates.
A different result
Contrary to Mr Abubakar’s computation, INEC’s
official result obtained from the electoral
commission’s website show that all the 73
candidates who participated in the election
scored some votes.
The result showed that 71 other candidates in
the election shared the remnants of 869,758 valid
votes collated.
The person who came a distant third in the
election, Felix Nicholas, of the Peoples Coalition
Party (PCP) scored a total of 110,196 votes.
He was followed by Obadiah Mailafia of the
African Democratic Congress (ADC) who polled
97.874.
Gbor Terwase of the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA) clinched the fifth position with
66,851 votes.
Candidates with least scores are Angela Johnson
of Alliance for a United Nigeria (AUN) with 1,092,
Abah Elaigwu of Change Advocacy Party (CAP)
with 1,111 and Edosomwon Johnson of the
Nigeria Democratic Congress Party (NDCP) with
1,192 votes.
The Atiku result
In Mr Abubakar’s home state of Adamawa, where
INEC officially declared Mr Abubakar winner with
412,266 against Mr Buhari’s 377,488, Mr
Abubakar claims that he got 646,080 out of the
total 815,680 accredited voters with Mr Buhari
scoring 161,600. The result show only the two
got all the possible votes.
In Akwa Ibom, Messrs Abubakar and Buhari,
according to the computation, received all the
votes by the 925,370 accredited voters with Mr
Abubakar polling 587,431 votes ahead of Mr
Buhari’s 337,939.
It is another clean sweep in Enugu as Mr
Abubakar claimed that the state’s 965,940
accredited voters gave him 698,119 as against
267,821 for Mr Buhari.
The 1,169,303 voters accredited in Sokoto State,
according to the purported result, all shared their
votes between Mr Abubakar (552,172) and Mr
Buhari (617,131).
Mr Abubakar’s 442,380 votes allegedly polled in
Taraba and Mr Buhari’s 188,389 votes put
together represent 630,769 total accredited votes
for the state.
Yobe’s 750,745 accredited votes, Mr Abubakar
claims, were shared in total between him and Mr
Buhari who got 443,904 against Mr Abubakar’s
306,841
In Zamfara, the result shows that total accredited
votes of 792,796 were shared between Messrs
Abubakar and Buhari with the former having
379,022 while the latter got 413,774.
Irregularities?
Aside the exactitude between summation of
figures for the two candidates and the number of
accredited voters, there are other issues that are
either arithmetic errors or over voting.
In Abia, for example, 853,050 were recorded as
“accredited voters (actual)” but the sum of the
votes allotted to Messrs Abubakar and Buhari
alone, outshot the accredited voters by 10,000.
Mr Abubakar, according to the result, polled
664,659 while Mr Buhari obtained 198,391.
It is a similar case in Bauchi, where the total for
Messrs Abubakar and Buhari’s purported votes
outnumber total accredited voters by 287 votes.
Mr Abubakar claims 187,668 votes a far cry from
854,037 the document said Mr Buhari obtained.
The summation comes to 1,041,705 while the
document gives the total accredited voters as
1,041,418.
In Cross River, the document shows that votes
obtained by the two leading candidates amount
to 691,640 which is higher than the 690,890
accredited voters’ figure by a total of 750 votes.

https://www..ng/news/several-flaws-identified-in-atikus-presidential-election-server-result