Abuja — By and large, what has so far given Nigerians some measure of confidence that the nation is on its way to breaking the jinx of poorly conducted and widely disputed elections is the personality and concomitant integrity of the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega. This is an attribute built over the years, attribute of unblemished public service both as a unionist and a university administrator.

However, in this euphoric self-congratulations that a Daniel has finally come to judgement, little or no thought seems to be spared for the herculean, almost impossible task imposed on INEC by the time limit within which it must procure the electronic registration equipment, otherwise known as Direct Data Capturing machine (DDC), train its staff on how to handle those equipment and register about 70 million voters by December 9, a space of a little over three months.

While the voter registration proper, expected to take only two weeks, may not pose much problem if the required number of DDC machines are procured, the real problem, analysts fear, may likely be with the logistics for the procurement and deployment of the machines and training of their handlers. The reason that this may prove problematic is not for shortage of funds, as INEC has already has its demanded budget expressly approved for it by the National Assembly, signed by the Presidency and promptly released by the Finance Ministry. At the root of the problem is the constraint of selecting reputable and reliable IT companies to supply reliable DDC machines in time to meet INEC time-table for the registration exercise.

With the signing into law of the 2010 Electoral Bill by President Goodluck Jonathan, INEC’s preparation for the voter registration exercise, the first crucial step towards the 2011 election, should be upbeat by now. Already, INEC has invited some IT companies, most of which are indigenous, to supply the DDC machines.

But observers are already expressing concerns over the ability of most of those companies not only to deliver the machines on time and in good working condition as to make the exercise a success.
One of the groups that have openly expressed misgivings over the selection process of IT contractors for the supplies of the DDC machines is the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which warned the INEC Chairman of falling into what it called “booby trap” set by his predecessor.

Warning INEC against using allegedly compromised or incompetent contractors in its procurements for the voter registration, the ACN, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urged the commission to “ensure that only capable and competent contractors are selected for the all-important task.''

THISDAY checks however revealed that some of shortlisted companies have approached some of the big four global electoral experts asking for proposal to partner with them in procuring the DDC machines.
A Nigerian IC T expert, with vast experience in DDC procurement and supplies abroad, Mrs Onyinye Dike told THISDAY in Abuja at the weekend that the decision to split registration software and hardware applications was not a good idea.

Dike maintained that “there is always a link between the hardware and the software and there is a need to perform field tests of all the equipment combining the hardware and the software”, adding that “separating software and hardware is theoretically interesting but will practically lead to problem in terms of responsibility for training, technical support and maintenance”.
She explained that in case there is any problem with the equipment, it may be difficult to identify whether it comes from the hardware or the software and this, according to her, “will mean time loss and money wasted”.

She further queried, “Where are the warehouses where the equipment will be stored for the software to be downloaded and equipment tested before deployment in the field? Who is going to own the field test of the equipment (software and hardware)?”
Another key issue that should be considered, according to Dike, is the reliability and reuse of the equipment, that is the overall cost of ownership of the solution. Therefore the need is to purchase an integrated solution featuring hardware (laptop, digital camera, fingerprint scanner, printer) and power pack (battery and charger) that is robust, field proven, easily transportable, and difficult to steal.

She said although going through local companies is good for Nigerian content, “local companies as prime contractors will add cost to the overall solution.” She maintained that an important topic that has not yet been thoroughly addressed is the timeline, pointing out that “not only is this a herculean task, but many experts in logistic and procurement, as well as experts in electoral operations do consider that it is just unrealistic within the targeted time frame.”
She therefore proffered that a minimum of four more months be added “to ensure a credible voter registration exercise if this is really the objective.”

According to her, this is because: batteries cannot be sent through air freight; they need to be shipped from Asia by sea freight; manufacturing of integrated kits is to be included; procurement of some devices such as fingerprint scanners may take up to 14 weeks; training of 360 000 staff to handle the equipment not planned yet; registering 70 million people in two weeks is too ambitious and may not be achievable, as voters usually show up on the last days of the registration exercise. An extension of time may therefore be necessary.

Logistic transportation of 120,000 units of DDC all around the country not planned yet Dike explained that “to provide 120,000 units of DDC machines within a few weeks requires at least a fleet of 10 Jumbo Boeing aircraft to carry the 120,000 units (the weight of one unit is about 10Kg and the maximum weight a Boeing 747 jumbo can carry is 120 Tons).”
She noted that this is only one logistic problem out of several others that INEC will have to deal with. Pointing out that “INEC is really in a serious dilemma and has to take its responsibility”, advising that “If we really need to have a credible voters register, it is not a shame to go with reputable companies even if not Nigerians; ask them to bring local partners on board and transfer technology and knowhow.”

The commission needs to take its responsibility as an independent commission, she said, by recognizing that additional time is needed to have free, fair and credible elections. “Therefore, the only way to save the N87.7 Billion voted for this exercise is to postpone the elections otherwise Nigeria will face its biggest white elephant project in its 50 years of independence”, the expert said.

To get around the identified problems and ensure a hitch-free voter registration exercise, Dike suggested the engagement of several reputable suppliers or consortia with verifiable track records and adequate technical know-how and expertise in ICT for the DDC machine procurement and deployment all over the country.