Give Electronic voting second thought - Senior lawyers appeals to critics

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Lateef Fagbemi, has urged those opposing electronic voting (e-voting) to give it a second thought.

Fagbemi, who gave the advice during a valedictory service organised for final year law students of Igbinedion University Okada (IUO), Edo, on Saturday, said: “e-voting is the way to go”.

“It is the best way to go if the country must achieve sanity in its electoral system,” he said.

He called relevant authorities, especially the National Assembly to have a rethink on the issue, insisting that it would give integrity to the nation’s electoral system.

“I am a strong advocate of e-voting and electronic transmission of election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” he said.

Fagbemi said that the move was a step in the right direction, regardless of growing opposition to it.

He however hailed INEC for taking bold steps toward ensuring sanity in elections in the country, particularly with the introduction of Smart Card Readers.

“This has drastically reduced the spate of election violence,” he said.

He charged the graduating law students to be focused, determined, and committed to ensuring a just society for all.

The Vice Chancellor of IOU, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye described the senior lawyer as a legal expert whose contributions to the legal profession spoke volumes.

Ezemonye expressed appreciation of the institution and that of the law students for the knowledge imparted through Fagbemi’s incisive analysis on the lecture he delivered at the faculty of law valedictory service.