INEC uncovers 2.8m under-aged, foreigners, other ineligible voters in Kano register

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it uncovered 2.8 million ineligible voters in Kano, including under-aged, foreigners, and double registrants in the recently-concluded Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the state.

The commission added that at the end of Automated Biometric Identification System, it identified 2,780,756, as the number of ineligible registrants in Kano State, out of the 5,927,565 registered electorate.

Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kano, Zango Abdu, during a meeting with members of election stakeholders, Thursday, also disclosed that at the end of the exercise, 12,298, 944 Nigerians successfully completed the registration as new voters.

“The preliminary register of voters in Kano State currently stands at 5,927,565.

“It is preliminary because Section 19 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act 2022 requires the Commission to display the hard copies of the register of voters for each registration area (Ward) and Local Government Area (and simultaneously publish the entire register on the Commission’s website) for a period of two weeks for scrutiny, claims and objections, by citizens not later than 90 days to a general election.”

The REC reiterated that the commission, as mandated by law, would continue to monitor the activities of political parties, as well as track the campaign finances of all political parties as provided by Sections 83, 85, 87, 88, 90, 91,92 and 95 of the Electoral Act of 2022.

Abdu, therefore, urged politicians to critically study and pay attention to the provisions of the constitution, the Electoral Act, The Police Act and Public Order Act for the proper and peaceful conduct of political party campaigns, rallies and processions, adding that the commission would continue to track the campaign finances and its activities, as mandated by the law.

According to him, ‘there would be no going back on deployment of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter accreditation and the transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal on Election Day.

The issue of irregularities in the recently-concluded nationwide CVR exercise had also prompted the National Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, to vowed to discipline its culpable officials who allowed ineligible persons into the commission’s Voters’ Register.

 INEC’s warning followed complaints by Nigerians who accuse INEC officials of registering children as voters ahead of the 2023 general elections.

This abnormality was uncovered after the commission displayed the Preliminary Register of Voters for public scrutiny nationwide in accordance with Sections 9(6) & 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Addressing this in a press release on Thursday, the commission praised Nigerians for scrutinizing its register.

The press release titled, “UPDATE ON THE ONGOING DISPLAY OF THE VOTERS’ REGISTER,” reads: “Nigerians would recall that last Saturday 12th November 2022, the Commission published the preliminary national register of voters in its 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) and 774 Local Government Area offices nationwide. Similarly, the entire register has been published on the Commission’s website for the first time in the nation’s electoral history.

“The purpose of the display is to enable Nigerians to scrutinise the preliminary register and make claims about misspellings of names, personal details or missing names on the register so that the errors can be corrected. In addition, citizens can 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.

“As earlier announced, the Commission will display the physical copies of the register for claims and objections at two levels. First, at the Registration Area level from 12th to 18th November 2022, which comes to an end tomorrow, and thereafter, at the Local Government level from 19th to 25th November 2022.

“The display will be followed by hearing of claims and objections by citizens for disposal action. In addition to the physical display at the Registration Areas and Local Governments, the register is also displayed on the Commission’s website so that citizens can simultaneously make both claims and objections online throughout the duration of the exercise.

“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. 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. In this way, citizens are contributing to the strengthening of our 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.

“We wish to reassure Nigerians that the Commission is committed 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.”