The senator representing Kaduna Central senatorial district in the National Assembly, Sen. Shehu Sani, has said that a ban on mobile phones at polling booths would remain “unenforceable”.
The vocal senator made this known in a tweet via his verified Twitter handle on Wednesday morning in reaction to a move by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the ban to prevent vote buying in the September 22 gubernatorial election in the Osun State.
According to Sani, a mobile phone has become a part of people’s lives and it would be impossible to deprive them of its use at polling booths just as it has been difficult to restrict its use at worship centres, petrol stations and banking halls.
The senator said, “Ban on the use of phones at worshiping places, Gas stations, Banking Halls has proven difficult to enforce; that of polling booths will be unenforceable. People treat phones as part of their anatomy & lives,that they can’t do without. We are at a point when many see it as a ‘shield’.”
See tweet:
Ban on the use of phones at worshiping places,Gas stations,Banking Halls has proven difficult to enforce;that of polling booths will be unenforceable.People treat phones as part of their anatomy & lives,that they can’t do without. We are at a point when many see it as a ‘shield’.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) September 19, 2018
However, INEC has denied banning use of mobile phones around polling units in Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Osun.
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The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who said that the commission considered the measure to eradicate vote buying, explained that the ban only takes effect after the voter has collected their ballot paper.
“In consultation with other stakeholders, the Commission came up with new measures to solve the problem (vote buying), one of which is to disallow the use of smart phones and other electronic devices in the voting cubicles on election day.
“In other words, INEC is not banning phones around the polling unit area, but the ban takes effect from the moment a prospective voter collects his or her ballot paper and enters into voting cubicle to thumb print and thereafter drop the folded ballot paper into the ballot box.
“After that, the voter can have access to his or her phone,” News Agency of Nigeria quoted Oyekanmi as saying.