“We are working to ensure optimal performance of the Smart Card Readers,” the INEC Chairman said. Yakubu highlighted INEC challenges to include do or die mentality of politicians, vote-buying, lack of internal democracy, incendiary speech, security, impunity and lack of consequences for electoral offenders. 

According to him, impact of litigation and conflicting court orders are also affecting the commission, but the electoral body continues to put in efforts to improve the conduct of elections in Nigeria. He lamented that there were increasing pre-election cases, with the commission being joined in 273 court actions and numerous petitions. Earlier in his remarks, Dr Haroun Adamu, the Chairman of the occasion and former Chairman, Petroleum Trust Fund, said that social media platforms had been so influential in information dissemination.

“They are the major opinion shapers and are influential. The business model adopted by Real News is very forward-thinking and can be described as being ahead of the crowd. “The team must continue to strive to remain dynamic, flexible and willing to adopt as the environment evolves with advances in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI),” Adamu said. He urged Real News and other media to be the cornerstone of investigative journalism in Nigeria and Africa, and be change agents in the Nigerian social and political landscape, focusing on key sectors of Nigeria’s economy. (NAN)