The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is already harvesting from across the country reports of underage persons, or multiple, and other infractions observed by Nigerians on the recently published voter register published and pasted by the Commission in all the wards, and local government areas in the country.
INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education Chief Festus Okoye, who made this known on Thursday, said that these fraudulent people are being discovered is an indication that the objectives of making the register public are being met.
He said at the completion of the exercise, all those undesirable elements found and collated would be expunged from the register.
The commission’s reaction followed the recent outrage that greeted its publication of the preliminary national register of voters in its 8,809 registration areas (wards) and 774 Local Government Area offices nationwide.
Nigerians had taken to social media to share screenshots of underage persons as well as multiple registrations, amongst others, accusing the commission of showing bias in favour of the North in the cleanup of the register following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
But Okoye said the purpose of displaying the register by INEC was to enable Nigerians to scrutinize it and make claims about wrong name spellings and other personal details, missing names, and to also “raise objections about the presence of ineligible persons, for example, those below the age of 18 years, dead persons, foreigners, or those making false claims so that they can be deleted from the register in line with the Commission’s established rules.”
He added, “So far, the Commission has been harvesting the online claims and objections. We will do the same for the manual process. At the end of the exercise, all claims and objections made will be addressed.
He described the exercise as part of the ways Nigerians are recognised under the law to contribute in strengthening the nation’s electoral process.
“It is therefore in the foregoing context that recent media reports on the presence of ineligible registrants in the register should be seen. The full display of all registrants speaks to the Commission’s commitment to transparency. The fact that these likely ineligible registrants are being identified means that the objectives of the display for claims and objections are being met. We implore the public to follow the procedures and report these objections for the necessary action of the Commission. In addition, the Commission cannot rule out infractions by its registration officials in allowing these ineligible persons into the register in the first place. Therefore, each confirmed case of infraction will be thoroughly investigated and culpable officials will be disciplined.”
Okoye further assured Nigerians of INEC’s commitment to transparency and accountability in all its activities.
“We hope that at the end of the exercise, the Commission, with the involvement of citizens, would have improved the quality of the Register of Voters, which is the bedrock of a successful election. Nigerians should note that perfecting the register is a continuous and painstaking process over time.
“Indeed, the presently displayed register contains all the voters dating back to the registration of 2011, not just the recent exercise. That some of these likely ineligible entries are being found presently confirms the Commission’s position that the best way to make the voters’ register more robust is for Nigerians to continue to scrutinise it and, more importantly, make their claims and objections for its improvement. We thank Nigerians for their sustained cooperation for the growth of our democracy,” he said.
The commission said following the display of the voters’ register, “a hearing of claims and objections by citizens for disposal action” will be held.
“This is the first time that the Commission would be doing so and further underscores our commitment to applying technology to improve the electoral process,” Okoye concluded.
