Onu updates FEC on solar-powered voting solution for elections

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, says a Solar-powered Voting Solution that will bring about seamless elections in Nigeria is underway.

Onu presented a scorecard of the ministry to Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, which lasted over eight hours, Onu said that the emphasis of his scorecard was on research as it was critical to remaining globally competitive.

“At the performance assessment for the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, research is something that is ongoing.

“By nature of research and innovation, it is very difficult to bring a research to an end completely because even when you develop out of research effort, you will continue to do research so as to improve and remain competitive otherwise competitors from other places will overtake you.

“There are just three areas that I will like to mention to you; the first is the voting solution that we had brought to your attention before; that is Solar-Powered Voting Solution that will help us to have clean elections in Nigeria.

“It will make it possible for us a nation, if we want to conduct all of our elections in one day at the same time, we can do so.

“That is elections at the national, state and local government; it is paperless and the machine is designed in a way that it does not store data; that even somebody comes to snatch it away, the person will not take anything away; as soon as data comes into it, it is transmitted out.’’

According to Onu, the system that will be addressing many of the problems Nigeria has today in the conduct of elections.

He said that the innovation had been presented to the National Economic Council while a committee had been set up.

The minister said that work was still being done to further improve the system.

One listed another achievement of the ministry as the Third Eye Navigator for physically challenged persons.

“Third Eye Navigator is a tool that will be very helpful to our brothers and sisters, who are physically challenged; so that it can help them to lead lives in a way they will not be dependent on other people at least for their movement.

“There are certain features in that navigator that will help them to move quickly and freely from one place to another.’’

He said that the ministry was also working on tackling cancer and epilepsy and sickle cell anemia through local herbs.

“Then also, we are doing research to find cure for breast cancer, which is the number one affecting our women; then prostate cancer is number one for our men.

“Then epilepsy, using our own herbs natural products.

“It is important to mention an improved way of managing sickle cell anemia which may be in the market before too long,’’ he said.