The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has stated that with elections becoming more technologically oriented and the accompanying logistical issues, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be engineers if the country wants better elections in the future.
This was revealed by Mr Tasiu Gidari-Wudil, President of the NSE, at a news conference held on Saturday in Abuja to commemorate World Engineering Day (WED).
According to the organization, logistics, or industrial engineering, accounts for 70% of INEC’s activities.
The group, which stated that the election is now centered on ICT and technology, urged the government to ensure that the person appointed to lead the Commission be an engineer if the country is to achieve sustainable growth.
According to Gidari-Wudil, the Government would strive the person who should head INEC as its chairman should be an engineer.
He said; “70 per cent of the operations of INEC is logistics, that is industrial engineering, the operations; election now is ICT based, technology based, so if you are going to bring a professor of political science or history most of the questions in this field he cannot answer.
“But if you bring an engineer he will use his experience, am sure most of the commissioners are not engineers, so when you talking of logistics and tracing, I can tell you if you put an engineer he will be geo-tagging every ballot box.
“So, if really government is ready to solve problems let them put square pegs in square holes, there are more than 40 fields of engineering, so if you want things to work don’t be afraid to put the right professionals in the right places.
“What we are saying is that the in-coming government should be mindful of this if they want to develop this country. In every political party there are engineers. People with the right competences should put in places,” Gadari-Wudil said.