It’s unfortunate, says Shehu Sanni
The House of Representatives may summon the leadership of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), an agency under the National Communications Commission, for failing to provide telecommunication services to rural areas across the country.
NCC’s Director of Technical Services, Ubale Ahmed Maska, had argued that it was impossible for the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit results electronically across all polling units because of poor and lack of service in the rural communities.
Testifying before the representatives, Maska disclosed that only 50.3 per cent of the 190,000 polling units in the country were covered by 2G and 3G networks, claiming that the remaining 49.7 per cent was without network coverage, and that only a 3G network could adequately transmit the results.
Most lawmakers of the ruling All Progressives Congress who voted against the clause of the Electoral Act (Repeal/Re-enactment) Bill, 2021, that seeks the electronic transmission of results, had also argued that most rural communities lacked service for the process.
House of Reps member, Mark Gbillah, representing Gwer East/West Federal Constituency in Benue State, disclosed that the lower chamber would summon USPF to appear before the house and explain how it expended the money meant for provision of services to rural communities.
USPF was established by the Federal Government to facilitate the achievement of national policy goals for universal access and universal service to information and communication technologies in rural, un-served and under-served areas in Nigeria.
Speaking in Osogbo, Gbillah argued that the agency collects 2.5 per cent of income of Telecom companies annually and expressed worry that USPF couldn’t facilitate network services in the rural communities to enable a seamless electronic transmission of results during elections.
He said, “One of the agencies under the NCC that has not been doing anything is the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). It was set up to provide a network for underserved areas, it collects 2.5 per cent from the Telecom companies annually. What have they been doing with these monies? We are going to start an investigation into the fund they have been collecting. They collect 2.5 per cent.
Where have those monies been going to?
“Between now and 2023, USPF can carry out comprehensive coverage of those areas where they claim there is no coverage and this is what we call collocation. They issue licences for collocation; they can deploy collocation services across those areas where every network places their antennas to provide service. So, these are basic fundamental things that are not rocket science.
“If this USPF is forced to do its job, I can assure you that within six months, we can have a network everywhere. They are sitting on funds that are not accounted for and we are going to probe how they have utilised those funds since people claim there is no network in rural areas. Within six months, every community in Nigeria can have a network facility for seamless electronic transmission of results,” he said.
Gbillah said the APC voted against electronic transmission of results because it was going to be difficult for the ruling party to rig elections and urged Nigerians to “rise and raise questions on why they (APC) are afraid to do the right thing. Isn’t it obvious that they are jittery with failure already?”
Also speaking, Senator Shehu Sanni, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, said it was unfortunate that the National Assembly could be divided on the issue, adding that “they (APC) already know it was going to be difficult for anyone to manipulate election results.”
“It is sad, unfortunate and tragic that the National Assembly can be so divided on a very important issue like this. It is unfortunate. NCC headed by an appointee of the president and a Senate leader, a politician of the APC, are deciding for Nigerians. If they are losing, they will find a way of manipulating results and they know that this electronic transmission is not going to be subject to anyone’s manipulation,” Sanni stated.
