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  • 2019: INEC presents register to parties, reveals number of eligible voters

    2019: INEC presents register to parties, reveals number of eligible voters

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final register of voter ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

    According to the final voter register which was issued to the 91 political parties in the country, 84.004 million eligible voters have been cleared to vote in the 16th February and 2nd March 2019 polls.

    Besides, INEC insisted that the smart card readers will be deployed for accreditation of voters during elections, despite the fact that the president refused to assent to the 2019 amended act which would have given legal teeth to the deployment of the smart card readers.

    INEC Chair, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who presented the register to parties in Abuja on Monday at the 7th regular quarterly consultative meeting with political parties said: “After the mandatory display of the register in all polling units nationwide for claims and objections from 6th- 12th November 2018, the final register for the 2019 General Elections stands at 84,004,084 voters. This is the register that will be presented to each political party at today’s meeting. It is also the same register that will be available at each polling unit nationwide on election day.”

    He also revealed that the printed Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have been delivered to states for collection; urging all registered voters who have not collected their PVCs to approach any of the Local Government Area offices or designated collection centres.

    According to him: “Similarly, the Commission has printed and delivered the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to the States for collection by registered voters. I urge all registered voters who have not collected their PVCs to approach any of our Local Government Area offices and other designated collection centres nationwide to pick up their cards. While we are encouraged by the response so far, millions of cards are still yet to be collected. I wish to reiterate that the Commission will not allow the collection of PVCs by proxy. Registered voters should endeavour to collect their cards personally without which no person can vote on election day.”

    Yakubu also insisted that the Smart Card Readers will be deployed for the accreditation of voters; while announcing an amendment to the incident form that will be deployed I case of any hitch with the card readers.

    He said: “On this note, let me re-emphasise the Commission’s policy that the Smart Card Readers will be used for the 2019 General Elections for accreditation of voters. For clarity, I wish to stress that the function of the Smart Card Reader during accreditation is to confirm, verify and authenticate the voter. First, it shall be used to confirm that the PVC is genuine and issued by INEC. Cloned cards or cards that do not match the codes for a particular polling unit in which the voter is registered will be rejected by the Card Readers. Secondly, the Card Readers shall verify that the voter who presents the PVC is the actual owner of the Card by ensuring that the personal details on the Card Reader are consistent with the manual register for the polling unit. Thirdly, the Card Reader shall be used to authenticate the fingerprint of the voter as an additional confirmatory procedure. If the fingerprint is not authenticated by the Card Reader but the PVC is confirmed as genuine and the voter’s personal details are consistent with the manual register, he/she shall be allowed to vote.”

     

  • #EkitiDecides2018: Impressive turn out as electorates decide next Ekiti governor

    #EkitiDecides2018: Impressive turn out as electorates decide next Ekiti governor

    There was a massive turnout of voters in Ekiti as the accreditation and voting process got underway in Saturday ’s governorship election.

    Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) monitoring the election across the three senatorial districts of the state report that many voters had arrived their polling units as early as 6.30 a.m. to wait for election officials.

    Across many polling units in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, there was an impressive turnout of enthusiastic voters determined to exercise their civic responsibilities.

    At ward 10 Unit 12 a&b, Basiri area of Ado-Ekiti, the Assistant Presiding Officer, Miss Nafisat Jamie, told NAN that though they collected all the election materials as early as 6.00 am, the process could not start due to transportation challenge to the unit.

    As at 8.53 am, the names of eligible voters were just being pasted for viewing and confirmation.

    An observer from the Transition Monitoring Group, Mrs Tosin Abati, told NAN that the process started late due to late arrival of INEC officials.

    At Ward 10 Unit 9, Okesha area of the state capital, the Assistant Presiding Officer 2, Mr Owoseni Taiwo, addressed the voters, who were already on the queue and opened the ballot box for everyone to see and confirm that it was empty.

    Visits to Wards 3, Units 5 and 13 Idemo, and Ward 9 Unit 12 Odo-Ado revealed that accreditation and voting were going on simultaneously with security men on standby.

    Dr Mike Omilusi, an observer from the Allaince for Credible Election, commended INEC for its pro-active strategies in terms of voter education and sensitisation ahead of the poll.

    He also commended INEC on the use of the card readers for the election, but advised that more card readers be made available in future elections.

    The observer said that the new idea of accreditation and voting simultaneously was commendable, noting that this would ensure quick conclusion of the exercise.

    At the St Michael’s School, Ajilosun, opposite Mobil filling station, the turnout was also impressive while the accreditation and voting process was also going on simultaneously.

    Speaking with NAN, an observer from the Justice Development and Peace Initiative, Mr Aluko Isiaih, said that, the election started well until when the card reader in one of the wards stopped working for about 45 minutes before it was rectified.

    Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, elections were going smoothly in all the eight units located within the school ’s premises while there was no report of violence.

    Efforts to speak with members of the monitoring team from the British High Commission, however, failed as they declined comments.

    Mr Wale Adebayo, a member of the team, told NAN that they had no comment to make.

    In Isan-Ekiti, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, hails from, accreditation and voting commenced across many polling units between 8.03a.m and 8.38.

    In Fayemi’s Polling Unit 009 Ward 11, NAN reports that accreditation and voting commenced at about 8:38 a.m. although INEC officials arrived at about 7:26 a.m.

    Accreditation and voting began in Polling Units 006 and 007 as well as 005 between 8: 03 a.m. and 8:10 a.m.

    At Unit 009, no fewer than 345 names of voters appeared on the pasted registered list.

    In Ikere –Ekiti, the hometown of the PDP flagbearer, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, voters trooped out as early as 6.30 a.m. to various polling units.

    NAN reports that a huge crowd was sighted at the Ofamofuru Polling Unit 007, Ward 02, of Olusola.

    The Presiding Officer of the polling unit, Mr Layeni Segun, had urged the voters to conduct themselves in an orderly manner after displaying the empty ballox box to those gathered.

    He equally appealed to the voters to allow the elderly and nursing mothers to cast their votes first.

    Other polling units visited such as ‎L.A Pilot Polling Unit,08, Ward 002, Custom Polling Unit,08, Idiyin Polling unit 006, Ward 002 also‎ witnessed a massive crowd of voters.

    NAN reports that no fewer than 667,064 eligible voters had collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) out of the 913, 334 registered.

    NAN also report that the electorate would vote in 2,195 polling units spread across 177 wards in the 16 local government areas of Ekiti while 35 candidates are contesting.(NAN)

  • Four million PVCs delivered to newly-registered voters – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has taken delivery of four million Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for distribution to the electorate registered in 2017.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this on Thursday at INEC Campus Outreach on “Youth Votes Count’’ at the University of Abuja.

    Yakubu said the PVCs would be delivered to states for onward distribution to the owners in the next few days.

    “For the four million voters who registered between April and December 2017, all the cards have been printed and will be delivered to the state this weekend.

    “So, by next week they will begin to collect their cards.

    “For those who registered in first quarter of 2018 and those being captured in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), I assure you that your cards will be available ahead of the 2019 general elections.’’

    He added that PVCs for newly-registered voters in Ekiti and Osun states would also be ready before the upcoming coming governorship elections in the states.

    Yakubu disclosed that INEC had so far registered about 8 million new voters in the CVR.

    “We have registered about 4 million Nigerians in 2017; in the first quarter of 2018 we registered about 2.9 million and in the four weeks of the second quarter, as at yesterday (Wednesday), we registered about 1.1 million more.

    “At the end of the exercise, we expect that about 11 million Nigerians will have been registered,’’ Yakubu said.

    He announced the creation of a registration centre at the University of Abuja campus and advised students and other residents close to the campus to make use of the centre by registering.
    Yusuf also advised them to endeavor to collect their PVCs and take active part in the 2019 elections, pledging that their votes would count.

    “When you collect your PVCs, please on Feb. 16 and March 2, 2019, make sure you go out to vote.

    “Let me give you an undertaking that in 2019 your votes will count, in 2019 only the votes cast by Nigerians will determine who wins,’’ he said.

    Yakubu said INEC was working towards ensuring that all Nigerians were carried along, including the People Living with Disability as it prepared for 2019 election.

    He said the commission would also provide magnified glasses for people with eyesight problem during the election as demonstrated in the recently conducted Anambra governorship poll.

    Also, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Michael Adikwu, commended INEC for starting its sensitization campaign against violence for Nigerian students at the institution.

    Adikwu, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Edward Nwana, said that INEC action underscored the important of youths as future leaders of the country.

    “What is happening today gives the youth a lot of hope for the country that we will have elections that will be credible and defensible in every part of the world.

    “I do hope that after today’s session, there will be no doubt that we will all play our roles in ensuring that our electoral processes are credible,’’ he said.

    The President of the University’s Students Union Government, stressed the need to carry the youth along in the electoral process.

    “It is a great thing for INEC to deem it fit to start the pioneer programme in UniAbuja.

    “You cannot take away youths from politics. Youths in politics, leadership and governance is something that must be taken with utmost value if Nigeria must attain greatness in future.

    “The step by INEC means that it believes in the youth, not only as the leaders of tomorrow but of today and we will lead ourselves into tomorrow.

    INEC ambassadors, Innocent 2baba Idibia, Helen Paul, Cobhams Asuquo , a multi-award wining musician/producer with visual challenge, as well as Yakubu and Obasanjo featured at the panel session.

    NAN

  • CSOs urge eligible voters in Anambra to register with INEC

    Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on eligible voters in Anambra to register with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the end of the current phase of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

    The groups made the call in Awka during a one-day sensitisation workshop on Electoral Participation for youths on Sunday.

    Mrs Chioma Okeke, Coordinator, Shoulder for Gender Support and Development Initiative, decried the level of political apathy in Anambra and the South-East.

    Okeke called on the participants, mostly youths, to avail themselves with the window provided by the ongoing CVR and register.

    She said some of the identified challenges in registration of voters in Anambra include: absence of INEC registration officials at advertised venues, alleged extortion of those wishing to register by officials and non collection of Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs)

    “INEC has to do more to cover eligible voters in the ongoing registration process, while in some places, efforts are made to register people even up to going to their houses, here people go to designated places and the officials are not there,” she said.

    On his part, Mr Chukwuma Chukwura, Coordinator of Kingsfaith Development and Youth Empowerment Initiative, expressed concern that people could not take time off their daily routine to register or collect their PVCs at INEC office.

    He said the number of eligible voters said to have registered in Anambra was a far cry from the population of voters in the state.

    “It is a serious source of worry for us how our youths behave when it comes to politics.

    “They are very active on social media , posting all sort of things about Nigeria and some individuals but in practice, they are not doing anything; common registering to vote, they will not, for those that manage to register, go and get your PVC, no way.

    “Worse still, on the day of election you see them playing football and drinking at joints because they feel it is not their business, that is why very small per cent of them voted in the last governorship election in Anambra.

    “What we are saying is that INEC, the political class and communities should encourage those who have not registered to do so before the time is up,” he said.

    Addressing the participants, Mr Leo Nkedife, Head, Public Relations Department of INEC in Anambra , corroborated the CSOs’ observation that the turnout of people in the state for the CVR was poor.

    Nkedife urged the people to take advantage of the exercise to register, saying that registration was free.

    He urged the people to report any of the commission’s official(s) who demanded money before registering them.

    Nkedife disclosed that only 22 per cent of the 2.15 million voters in Anambra participated in the Nov. 18, 2107 governorship election, and that over 142,000 PVCs were still awaiting collection at the INEC office in the state.

    He said INEC had greatly improved in the conduct of elections as people’s votes now count.

    Prof Collins Okafor of the Department of Political Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, blamed the political apathy among the people on lack of confidence in the Nigerian electoral process.

    Okafor said apathy include; refusal to register, refusal to belong to a political party, refusal to vote and refusal to protest against rigging and other electoral malpractice.

    He said those who did not participate in politics contributed more to the political and economic crisis in the country.

     

  • 2019: INEC reports own staff to police, DSS for registering ineligible voters

    The Independent National Electoral Commission says it has reported some of its senior officials in Taraba State to security agencies for allegedly registering ineligible voters during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

    INEC failed to mention if the illegal voters were aliens or underage voters. It also failed to reveal the identities of the senior officials that were given queries.

    In a statement by the Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Taraba State, Fabian Vwamhi, the commission said the illegal voters had been expunged from the register.

    The statement read in part, “Following its laid down processes, INEC Taraba office has discovered that some ineligible voters have been registered in the ongoing CVR exercise.

    “This is not only contrary to INEC’s guidelines for registration, but is also a violation of the Electoral Act.

    “Consequently, the Taraba State office has flagged these illegal registrations for removal from the voter register.

    “In addition, it has queried the electoral officer as well as the registration officer for the centre.

    “It has informed the headquarters of the commission in Abuja and drawn the attention of security agencies for further investigation and possible prosecution of all found to have been involved, including INEC staff.”

  • Voters turn out in their numbers in Sierra Leone elections

    Voters in Sierra Leone turned out in their numbers on Wednesday to elect a new president as incumbent Ernest Koroma bows out.

    A total of 16 candidates – including two women – are vying for the presidency.

    A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent covering the election, reports that there were long queues of registered voters at various poling units visited as early as 5 a.m local time, waiting to cast their vote at the official opening of polls by 7 a.m local time.

    Some of the voters who spoke to NAN said they left their houses early to enable them cast their vote as early as possible and leave.

    The Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission (NEC) officers and election materials could be seen at various poling units visited in the City centre.

    At the cathedral Central District voting station, the NEC official had already set up.

    Also at the Open Field Grass Field Polling Station and the First Baptist Mission Primary School, Accessories Read, Easter Region, the NEC officials could be seen on ground wile voters were already on queue.

    The NEC Poll Manager at Open Field Grass, Mr Abdul Tholley, who spoke with NAN said their was no problem regarding the election materials both sensitive and non sensitive received.

    Also at Annie Wash Primary School, East region, the voters were already waiting in queue as early as 5 .30 a.m local time.

    There was enforcement of vehicular movement restriction as police officers were on strategic road junctions to enforce the restriction order.

    There was also presence of police officers at all the polling units visited.

    Voting is expected to commence by 7 a.m. close by 5 p.m.

    The country has an estimated seven million population and 3.17 million registered voters, who will cast their ballots in 11,122 polling stations nationwide.

    Sierra Leone elections are being contested by 16 presidential candidates, including two women, and more than 700 contenders for the 144-seat unicameral parliament.

    One hundred and thirty-two of the lawmakers will be elected directly, complemented by 12 slots for Paramount Chief Members of Parliament.

     

  • INEC disassociates self from social media images of under-aged voters

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disassociated itself from the current videos and pictures in the social media platforms, showing under-aged persons thumb-printing ballot papers and voting in an election.

    INEC made the clarification in a statement signed by its Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Osaze-Uzzi said the images which have gone viral did not relate in any way to any election organised, conducted or superintended by the commission.

    The director said the commission could not be held directly or vicariously liable for an exercise outside its legal purview.

    “It should be pointed out here that local government elections are exclusively the responsibility of the respective State Electoral Commissions, who are in no way under the control and supervision of INEC.

    “As far as the commission is concerned, they relate to a local government election conducted at the weekend, over which INEC has no legal control or responsibility whatsoever,” he stated.

    Osaze-Uzzi restated the commitment of INEC to sanitising the electoral process of the country.

    “The commission remains resolute in its commitment to sanitise the nation’s electoral process and deliver free, fair and credible elections,” he said.

    The director said INEC was doing all it could to ensure a credible register of voters.

    He said that in addition to running the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), the commission would employ its business process rules to weed unlawful entries.

    He said INEC was aware of the challenges encountered in some quarters by prospective registrants in the ongoing nation-wide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

    Osaze-Uzzi said steps had been taken to ameliorate the situation through the acquisition and deployment of new Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines for registration.

    The director said the commission had also increased the number of registration centres in the affected areas.

    He appealed to those who did not register in the previous registration exercises to do so now.

    He gave the assurance that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) of those who registered in 2017 would be ready for collection in May 2018.

     

  • Osun LG election witnesses low turnout

    Osun LG election witnesses low turnout

    Osun Local Government Election witnessed a low turnout on Saturday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    NAN correspondents monitored the election in Osogbo, Ayedade, Irewole and Ile-Ife Local Government Areas.

    They report that ad-hoc staff of the State Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) arrived at polling units on time but with just a few voters to attend to.

    At St. Peter Primary School, Unit 1, Otun Balogun Ward, Gbongan in Ikire Local Government, the turnout of electorate was low.

    Speaking with NAN, Mr Olasiyan Sikiru, All Progressive Congress (APC) party agent, decried the unimpressive turnout of the electorate.

    Sikiru said out of 600 registered voters at the ward, only 40 came out to vote as at 10a.m.

    “We are hopeful that people will still come out but aside the low turnout, the election is going on smoothly.”

    Mr Oladele Adelowo, the Accord Party agent at Unit 2, Otun Balogun ward, said the low turnout of the electorate was because the election fell on the market day.

    Adelowo, however, commended the OSIEC staff for arriving at the polling unit on time.

    Mr Adeshina Olatokunbo, the ward returning officer, said the election was peaceful without any challenges.

    Olatokunbo said it was expected that more electorate would still come out to vote.

    At Unit 2, Eketa Ward in Osogbo Local Government, NAN also observed that the turnout was also low.

    The accreditation of voters and voting, however, went on smoothly.

    Low turnout of voters was also witnessed in Ile-Ife.

    At Iremo Unit 13, Ward 3 in Ile-Ife, the turnout of the voters was low with late arrival of voting materials.

    Miss Damilola Omiyefa, APC party agents decried non-availability of voting materials as at 10a.m. and low voters turnout.

    NAN reports that the election, which was conducted in the parliamentary pattern, is for ward councillors only who will in turn choose their council chairmen among themselves.

    This pattern of the election runs contrary to the existing presidential system whereby both the councillors and chairmen are voted directly by the electorate.

     

    NAN

     

  • CVR: INEC registers 125,198 new voters in Enugu

    No fewer than 125,198 eligible voters have registered for the first and second quarters in the Continuous Voters Registration in Enugu State.

    The state Independent National Electoral Commissioner, Mr Emeka Ononamadu, said on Saturday that 56,562 eligible persons registered in the second quarter of the CVR that ended on Sept. 19 in the state.

    He also said 68,672 registered in the first quarter, leading to a difference of 12,110 in between the two quarters.

    The commissioner said that the commission opened eight additional centres during the second quarter, especially in difficult terrains, to reach communities that were far from their local council headquarters.

    Ononamadu said the downward trend in the second quarter called for intensive awareness by Independent National Electoral Commission and other stakeholders to reverse it.

    He announced that the third quarter registration would begin on Oct. 30 and would run for three months.

    “INEC cannot do it alone; we depend on critical stakeholders and the people to make elections very successful,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Registered voters may hit 80m by 2019 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has projected that the registered voters in the country might increase by about 10 million to over 80 million by 2019.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the prediction at a roundtable organised by the European Union Electoral Follow-up Mission to Nigeria and West Africa, held in Abuja.

    A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi on Sunday in Abuja, noted that the roundtable was also attended by Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders.

    Yakubu speaking on the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) said that no fewer than 3.2 million Nigerians had been registered in addition to the 70 million registered voters for the 2015 general elections.

    According to him, the credibility of election depends on the credibility of the Voter Register. We are now doing it continuously. We have seen some challenges and we are responding to them.

    “We started in April and as at last week, and we have registered 3.2 million Nigerians on top of the 70 million registered voters for the 2015 general elections that we had before.

    “Our projection is that the Voter Register will probably be over 80 million by 2019,” Yakubu said.

    He also revealed that about eight million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were yet to be collected by their respective owners.

    “We haven’t made much progress in the last two years, but we have made elaborate arrangements with the states to ensure that the cards are collected.”