Electoral commission to publish new voters register in 774 local government areas of Nigeria

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that the hard copies of the new register will be published at designated centres of the 8,809 Wards and 774 local government areas across the country from 12 to 25 November.

Penpushing reports that the Chairman of the Commission Mahmood Yakubu made the disclosure at the commission’s quarterly meeting with the Civil Societies Organisations(CSO’s) which took place on Thursday in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory(FCT)

The Chairman, however called for more partnership with Civil Society Organisations (CSO) toward cleaning the nation’s voters register, ahead of 2023 poll, explaining that 12,298,944 new voters successfully completed their registrations at the just concluded Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

Penpushing further reports that, Yakubu said that after a rigorous cleaning-up of the data using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), a total of 2,780,756 (22.6 per cent) was identified as ineligible registrants and invalidated from the record, as a result of double/multiple registrations, under aged persons and out rightly fake registrations.

The commission boss added that after the delisting of the ineligible registrants, a total of 9,518,188 newly registered voters has been added to the exiting 84,004,084 voters which gave Nigeria a total of preliminary 93,522,272 registered voters.

Penpushing also reports that, he said that in accordance to the law, the commission would be publishing the hard copies of the new register at designated centres of the 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) and 774 LGAs across the country and the entire register on its website from Saturday, 12 November to Friday, 25 November for claim and objections by Nigerians.

“I will like to appeal to all Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the display to scrutinize the list and help us to clean it further so that the final register of voters for the 2023 general elections can be compiled and published’, he said.

“We played our own part which is to do the initial cleaning up of the register, but the law required that Nigerians should help us and that is why we’re printing 9.3 million copies of the register and display same at the wards and local governments nationwide’, Yakubu added.

“Let me once again appeal to civil society and Nigerians in general to please when we paste the list, check and scrutinise so that if there are still ineligible persons in the register kindly draw our attention to it so that at the end of the day we’ll have a clearer and better register for the election,” he said.

Penpushing reports that, Yakubu while speaking on the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs),  said the commission was working to ensure the completion of printing of remaining Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs)  for new voters and those that applied for transfer or the replacement of their lost or damaged cards.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) assured that  in the coming days, the electoral body  would inform Nigerians of its plan to ensure a seamless collection of the Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs).

“Since the end of the CVR in July this year we have been working to ensure that citizens have a pleasant experience when they come to collect their cards including collaboration with civil society organisations for a pilot exercise in the Federal Capital Territory’, he stated.

“We have been doing a pilot of some of the civil society organisations and the FCT, we are exploring the possibility of scaling up the FCT pilot for nationwide application and we have been receiving separate letters from several civil society organisations offering to partner with the commission to ensure a seamless collection of the PVCs’, Yakubu said

“At this meeting we will discuss both the FCT pilot, what we are doing with the CSOs and any other proposal the CSOs have to help us. This is our elections, it is not the INEC election. It is Nigeria elections. It is when we come together that we can have the kind of credible elections that we all expect’.

“It is not just for INEC alone. It is for all of us as Nigerians and we will make every information available to every conscientious individual or group that want to partner with the commission to deliver credible elections in 2023,” he said.

Penpushing further reports that, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Mufuliat Fijabi, speaking on behalf of the Civil Societies Organisations(CSO’s) expressed the organisations’ commitment to enhancing the process of election in Nigeria.

FOOTNOTE: You want to share story with us? You want to advertise with us? You need publicity for product, or service, or   event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348073463653 or email [email protected]