Commission (INEC) has voided 1,126,359 new voter registrations, representing 44.6 per cent of 2,523,458 of the total registration in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
This happened as the commission said 10 political parties have notified it about the conduct of their primaries.
But it did not name the 10 political parties.
It was gathered that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have not given notice of their primaries.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who announced these while addressing reporters yesterday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, warned political parties to adhere strictly to the election timetable to avoid “unhappy” consequences.
In Ekiti and Osun states, 106,280 registrations were declared invalid for allegedly flouting the guidelines stipulated for the CVR.
In Ekiti State, 40,234 new voters were registered, out of which 17,640 were voided, representing 43.9 per cent of the completed registrations, while in Osun State, 218,142 new registrations were completed, out of which 88,630 were invalidated, representing 40.6 per cent of the total number of new voters.
Yakubu said out of the 2,523,458 new registrations, 1,126,359, representing 44.6 per cent, were invalid.
The INEC chairman explained that the infraction, which was uncovered while cleaning up the voter register, happened across the 36 states.
He said: “While the number of new registrants is very impressive and demonstrates the eagerness of Nigerians to vote in the forthcoming elections, the commission has a duty to clean up the data to ensure that only eligible Nigerians are registered.
“As you are aware, the foundation for any credible election rests on the credibility of the register of voters. The introduction of the biometric registration of voters in 2011 has helped to sanitise the register. You may recall that initially, 73,528,040 Nigerians were registered in 2011.
“Using the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), the commission was able to remove 4,239,923 invalid registrations. Consequently, the register of voters for the 2015 general election stood at 69,288,117 voters. “Subsequently, some 432,173 new voters were added to the register during the CVR exercises ahead of the off-cycle governorship elections in five states (Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo, Ondo and Anambra) from late 2015 to early 2017, bringing the total number of registered voters in Nigeria to 69,720,350.
“You may also recall that preparatory to the 2019 general election, the commission, for the first time, embarked on a nationwide CVR exercise on a continuous basis, as provided for by law. From April 27, 2017 to August 31, 2018, 15,317,872 new voters were registered. Out of this figure, 1,034,141 ineligible registrants were detected and removed from the register to arrive at the figure of 84,004,084 voters for that election.
“Unfortunately, the troubling issue of invalid registration still persists, which we detected while cleaning up the latest registration data.
“As against the AFIS used in previous exercises, the commission introduced the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which is a more comprehensive and robust system, involving not just fingerprint identification but also the facial biometric recognition.
“Sadly, it seems that many registrants, either out of ignorance that they do not need to re-register if they had done so before, or a belief that our systems will not detect this infraction, have gone out to register again. This is despite repeated warnings by the commission against this illegal action.
“In addition, there are also registrants whose data were incomplete and did not meet our Business Rules for inclusion in the register. Both categories, that is, the failure of ABIS and incomplete data, constitute invalid registrations.”
“Presently, nearly 45 per cent of completed registrations nationwide are invalid, rising to as high as 60 per cent or more in some states. This infraction happened in all states of the federation. No state is immune from it. These invalid registrations will not be included in the Register of Voters.
“In our commitment to transparency, the distribution of the registration figures, including the percentages of valid and invalid registrations on state-by-state basis, will be made available to you at this press conference. The same information will be uploaded to the commission’s website and social media platforms immediately.
“This development is worrisome because of the time and resources expended in handling these cases. Even more disturbing are the strong indications that some of our staff may be complicit in facilitating these infractions, notwithstanding stern warnings.
“Consequently, the commission is reviewing reports on such staff and has commenced a detailed investigation which may include the prosecution of those found culpable. Specific registrants associated with these infractions by our staff may also face prosecution in line with Sections 22 and 23 of the Electoral Act 2022.”
On the activities of political parties towards their primaries, Yakubu said: “The commission wishes to reiterate that the dates for all activities in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 general election, including the conduct of party primaries, are firm and fixed.
“Already, 10 political parties have served notices to the commission for the conduct of their primaries. With 52 days to the last day for the conduct of primaries (that is, June 3, 2022), political parties are once again admonished to adhere strictly to all dates in the Timetable, including the nomination of their candidates via the INEC web portal. Such nominated candidates must emerge from valid primaries as provided for in Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
“This is necessary to avoid the unhappy consequences of any breach of the commission’s Timetable or the Electoral Act.”
