Information minister Lai Mohammed has contradicted INEC chair Mahmood Yakubu’s claim that “technical hitches” prevented the electoral body from immediately uploading the February 25 presidential election results. Mr Mohammed said INEC deliberately withheld the uploading of the results because it sensed a cyberattack on its portal.

Many young Nigerians, including first-time voters, had trusted in BVAS and IReV to be the game-changer in the election as many saw it as a means to deal with election results manipulation and other malpractices that often characterise Nigeria’s elections.

“What happened on the 25th of February was that INEC observed that the results of the presidential elections were not being viewed. INEC, suspecting a cyberattack, withheld the uploading of the results to preserve the integrity of the data,” Mr Mohammed briefed journalists in the U.S. on Monday.

The minister’s comment contradicted INEC’s official position, which cited “technical hitches” as the main reason it did not upload election results on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

“The problem is totally due to technical hitches related to scaling up the IReV from a platform for managing off-season, state elections to one for managing nationwide general elections. It is indeed not unusual for glitches to occur and be corrected in such situations,” said INEC in a statement released shortly after the polls.

It added, “Consequently, the Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that the challenges are not due to any intrusion or sabotage of our systems and that the IReV remains well-secured.” 

Mr Mohammed also accused opposition parties and their candidates of causing unnecessary tension in Nigeria. 

He claimed that a “true democrat” would not tag an election as fraudulent because they did not win. 

“We have observed that misleading narratives have been promoted by naysayers and opposition elements. They have been asking for the elections to be cancelled,” stated the minister. 

The Nigerian information minister added, “In another breath, some were even calling for an interim government. These are generally inciting comments and very undemocratic.”