The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Inec

  • 2019: ‘Without PVCs, you are wasting time’

    A Political Economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, has urged Nigerian youth to take advantage of their voting rights to actualise their desired change.

    Utomi, who made the call in an interview with our reporter on Tuesday in Lagos, encouraged them to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    He noted that voting was the only powerful tool to effect change in government.

    The political economist said that beyond agitation, youths must rise to the challenges of nation-building and governance.

    According to him, the time has come for the younger generation to take vantage positions in leading political parties in the country.

    ”If the youths are serious about changing their position, all they need to do is to organise themselves with the technology available to them to say that the future belongs to them.

    ”They can also go and be part of the ongoing voter registration to get their Permanent Voter Cards to vote for the candidates of their choice. It is legal and it is your civic responsibility.

    Read Also; Distribution of PVCs begins mid May, says INEC

     ”Without the cards, you are wasting your time. If you are complaining about bad governance, I will ask you, did you get your PVC? Did you vote? Or did you stand up to protect your vote?”

    Utomi advised the youths to positively engage the government, to support efforts to make Nigeria a better place to live in.

    ”I was already engaging the government as early as 19 years and it is well over 40 years now that I have been doing that.

    ”As a 21-year-old corps member working in a newspaper magazine, I caused a cabinet reshuffling through my investigative report, and at 27, I became a member of presidential advisory committee.

    ”I have been on the stage since then and I see no reason youths cannot follow my footsteps. The youths can have a paradigm shift from the old order if they are resolute,” he said.

    Utomi said the power to change the government is now flexible with social media.

    He charged the youth to get their PVCs, saying without it and their active participation, they would just be wasting their time.

     

    NAN

  • INEC registers 70, 000 prospective voters in Kwara

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has registered 70,000 people in Kwara since the commencement of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in April 2017.

    Mr Paul Atser, INEC Administrative Secretary in the state, made this known during a meeting with members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Ilorin on Monday.

    He said that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) of the 70,000 registered prospective voters would soon be sent to the state for distribution.

    He added that of the 242,000 unclaimed PVCs in the state, 4,000 had been collected by their owners.

    Atser assured IPAC members that the newly printed PVCs would soon be ready for collection, adding that stakeholders would be adequately informed on this.

    According to him, card owners will have to personally visit INEC collection centres as there will be no collection by proxy.

    The administrative secretary expressed satisfaction over at the ongoing registration and urged members of the IPAC to mobilize those yet to register to do so.

    He commended the peaceful and serene political environment existing among the political parties in the state.

    Atser noted that the political parties had been conducting their activities in peaceful manner devoid of any major rancour and appealed to them to sustain the situation.

    He said that the meeting was called to update political parties with developments since the last meeting.

    He urged IPAC members to feel free to visit the commission’s office to obtain clarifications on any issue.

    Earlier, IPAC Chairman in the state, Comrade Abdul-Mumeen Onagun, who is also the Labour Party (LP) Chairman, commended the openness of the state office of INEC in handling all issues relating to political parties and creating a level playground all the time.

    Onagun noted that in spite of INEC’s efforts, the number of the registration centers were still “grossly inadequate” and very far from the registrants.

    He, therefore, urged INEC to create more centres, to ensure that no one was disenfranchised due to inability to register.

  • 2017 registered voters to get PVCs May 21 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) says Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for citizens who registered in the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR)  between April and December 2017 will be ready for collection on May 21.

    The commission disclosed this in a statement by its Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi in Abuja on Friday.

    Osaze-Uzzi said the decision was reached on May 10 when the commission met in Abuja.

    This, according to Osaze-Uzzi, includes registered citizens who applied for transfers and replacement of their lost PVCs within the said period.

    He added that “such persons are to report at the INEC Local Government Offices and other designated registration centres nationwide with their Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs) to collect their PVCs.’’

    He assured Nigerians who registered in the ongoing CVR that their PVCs would be ready for collection in good time before the 2019 general elections.

    For further enquiries,  Osaze-Uzzi  advised citizens to contact the nearest INEC office or INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC), twitter handle, facebook and website.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had on May 3 disclosed that the commission had taken delivery of four million PVCs for distribution to the electorate registered in 2017.

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

    He had earlier promised that the PVCs for Nigerians who registered during the CVR would be ready for collection in May. (NAN)

  • Under-age voting: Disquiet over non-release of report by INEC

    There is disquiet over the non-release of the report of the committee set up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate allegations of under-age voting in Kano State.

    Although the report has been submitted to INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, it has not been made public, fueling suspicions that the findings may be swept under the carpet.

    INEC National Commissioner May Agbamuche-Mbu, who spoke on the report on AIT’s programme, Kakaki, yesterday, acknowledged that the committee had submitted the report to the chairman.

    However, she could not categorically disclose when the report will be released, merely saying the commission will decide on that.

    Under the constitution, the responsibility for conducting local council elections is within the jurisdiction of the state electoral commission. But, the state electoral agencies depend on the INEC’s register of voters for the exercise.

    Initially, INEC had denied that fake voters participated in the disputed council poll, thereby heightening post-election tension in the Northwest state.

    There was uproar in Kano State when the pictures of alleged under-aged voters were posted on the social media. Opposition parties cried foul, saying that the polls were rigged in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). They feared that the scenario may be repeated in next year’s polls, unless urgent steps were taken by the electoral agency to sanitise the voting register.

    Irked by the alarm, INEC set up the committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding illegal voting by under-aged youths.

    The committee, said a source, was also given the mandate to “clean-up” the register of voters by removing the names of under-aged and deceased voters.

    According to the source, the committee, which attempted the pilot screening of the register of voters in eight local councils, discovered overwhelming evidence of under-age voting, which rendered the polls fraudulent and put a question mark on the results.

    A Kano PDP chieftain, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the voters’ register in Kano is unreliable, stressing that it had been discredited by the fictitious names.

    He lamented that the electoral commission had developed a cold feet and unwilling to release the report of the committee it set up, adding that INEC might have decided to gloss over the scandal.

    The source added: “The credibility of INEC has been dented by the glaring disclosure that children and teenagers who were not eligible to vote participated in the election. The implication is that the voting population of Kano recorded in the register is false and cannot be substantiated. The last council election was a scam and an affront on electoral democracy.

    “The onus is on INEC to release the report and implement the recommendations made by the committee as the first critical step in sanitising the register. We do not have confidence in the current register of voters and we will resist any plan to make use of it in future elections, unless the anomalies are corrected. The current register is not authentic. It is not valid at all.”

  • Alleged Kano underage voters: INEC not culpable

    Following the Kano State Local Government election held on 10th February 2018, there were several reports in the media, particularly the social media, alleging that underaged persons voted in the election. Both explicit and implicit in some of these reports was the suggestion that since the National Register of Voters compiled by INEC was used in the election, the alleged problem of underaged voting in the Kano Local Government election is linked to a prevalence of underaged registrants in the National Register of Voters.

    I must note that till date, not a single formal complaint on this matter has been received by the Commission. Rather, some stakeholders, including a political party, have taken to the media to criticize INEC and in some cases to impugn the integrity of the National Register of Voters. Concerned that some of the claims being made about the Register could create doubts in the minds of citizens about INEC’s preparations for the forthcoming general elections, the Commission on 21st February 2018 set up an investigation panel into the allegations that underaged persons voted in the Kano State Local Government election, using the Register of Voters given to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) by INEC, as prescribed by law.

    For the avoidance of doubt, let me emphasize first, that INEC was not in any way involved in organizing the Kano State Local Government election beyond the legal requirement that the register of voters compiled by INEC should be used in all Local Government elections nationwide. The conduct of that election was entirely the responsibility of KANSIEC. Secondly, let me also emphasize that the investigative committee was not established to inquire into the general conduct of the Kano State Local Government election or to inquire into the organization or challenges of KANSIEC. Indeed, INEC has no legal remit to do so. Rather, as the Terms of Reference of the Committee show, its role was strictly to inquire into claims linking the register of voters compiled by INEC and the alleged incidents of underaged voting in the election.

    The investigative committee had National Commissioner Engineer Abubakar Nahuche as Chairman, another National Commissioner Barrister May Agbamuche-Mbu, two Resident Electoral Commissioners (Barristers Mike Igini and Kassim Geidam) as well as some Directors and staff of the Commission, who are experts in ICT, as members. It has since submitted its Report. The Commission has carefully considered the report and accepted its findings and recommendations. Based on its Terms of Reference, there are four key points in the findings and recommendations of the Committee, which may be summarised as follows:

    1. Kano State Independent Electoral Commission requested for and received from INEC the Kano State Register of Voters for the election. The Register was produced for use for the elections. However, the Register was only sighted in a few polling units. In other words, the Register was not used in most of the polling units. In fact, accreditation using the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) largely did not take place.
    2. Given that the Register was substantially not used to accredit voters before voting, it is logical to conclude that if underaged voting occurred in the election, it was not due to any presence of underaged registrants on the Register of Voters. However, after examining some of the images in circulation, the Committee found that they have been available long before the Kano Local Government Elections. The few images and video clips from Kano show no accreditation of voters or any relationship with the Register of Voters.

    iii.    There is need and ample room for collaboration between INEC and all stakeholders to continue to update and improve the National Register of Voters to eliminate all ineligible registrants from it, including dead persons, aliens and underaged registrants.

    1. INEC should work with the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to ensure continuous improvements in the quality of all elections conducted in Nigeria.

    Since the central interest of the Commission and Nigerians in this remains the National Register of Voters because it is the bedrock of the 2019 general elections, let me share with you a few facts about the current register of voters.

    Essentially, the present register of voters is the one compiled by the last Commission in 2011. Recall that before 2011, the register of voters was full of errors including strange entries like Mike Tyson, incorrect entries and misplaced records. Although the pre-2011 register was supposed to contain the fingerprints of registrants, the last Commission found that most of the fingerprints were missing or of very poor quality. Also, there were integration issues and a lot of data were lost because they were collected using incompatible platforms. In addition, there were multiple registrations, as there was minimal attempt to remove multiple entries from the register. These were some of the problems that the last Commission tried to solve by embarking on fresh registration of voters in 2011.

    Since the 2011 general elections, the Commission has been updating this register in accordance with the law along three lines: (i) addition of new registrants from the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR); (ii) more stringent running of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to identify multiple registrants and remove them; and (iii) updating incomplete records such as entries with incomplete fingerprints and wrongly spelt names among others. These became particularly important with the introduction of the PVC and Smart Card Reader (SCR). For this reason, records without fingerprints had to be updated, otherwise, the concerned voters will not be able to vote using the PVC and SCR. As a result of these updates and clean up, a final register of 68,833,476 was used for the 2015 general elections.

    Consequently, this Commission believes that it inherited a register that:

    1. Meets a high standard of biometric registration. In fact, many other countries have subsequently learnt from INEC in handling their own registers. For instance, during the recent Presidential election in Liberia, the country’s National Electoral Commission (NEC), through the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), which I currently chair, requested the services of INEC staff to sort out issues with their register. Their work has been highly commended by these organisations and the diplomatic community for contributing to the success of the Liberian election;
    2. Contains 68.8 million valid entries, easily the largest single database of Nigerians in existence;

    iii.    Supports fingerprint matching for authentication of voters during elections using the SCR;

    1. Supports the introduction of machine readable, chip-based PVC; and
    2. Ensures continuous updating through the Continuous Voter Registration, as prescribed by law.

    Under the present INEC, only 432,233 new registrants have been added to our national Voter Register. This represents 0.9 percent increase on the Register used for the 2015 general elections. These additions came essentially from the CVR carried out in 2015 and 2016 in States where we conducted off-season Governorship elections namely Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo and Ondo as well as the FTC Area Council elections. From April 2017 when we commenced the CVR to December of the same year, some 3,981,502 new registrants were recorded, including figures from Anambra State Governorship election held in November 2017. This figure represents the first major additions to the Register since this Commission came on board. Even so, except for the 190,767 new registrants added to the voter register in Anambra State, the new registrants are just about to be added to the national Register.

    It is important to remind us that this National Register of Voters has been used to conduct the 2011 and 2015 general elections, as well as several re-run, off-season and by-elections. Most of these elections have not only been adjudged to meet international standards but have also produced varied outcomes for different political parties at different times. Indeed, the Register used in the Kano Local Government election of 10th February 2018 was the one compiled in 2011, updated in 2014 and used for the 2015 general elections. This Commission did not add a single name to the voter register. As with all elections, some political parties have won and some have lost using the same Register. In fact, many constituencies have changed from one political party to another between elections on the basis of the same Register. Therefore, for anyone to suggest that the same register, on the basis of which political parties have won and lost elections at different times, is suddenly unreliable is curious to say the least.

    Let me reiterate that this Commission is convinced that we now have a dependable register, even if it is not perfect. We believe that it is a huge national asset, easily the largest database of Nigerians in existence today containing over 70 million entries of names, addresses, photographs, ten fingerprints, telephone numbers etc. I implore all Nigerians to see the value of this national asset and work with the Commission to continue to improve it. Considering that there are few if any perfect voters roll anywhere, we can continue to work together with stakeholders and indeed all citizens to ensure that all ineligible registrants and entries are removed from the register and that eligible voters who have not registered take advantage of the ongoing CVR.

    Let me also share with you what we have been doing and what we plan to do as a Commission to continue to update the register and remove ineligible entries from it.

    First, we have made registration more continuous than ever before, starting from April 2017. We regularly display the provisional register after each CVR exercise for claims and objections, as required by law. This usually lasts between 5 and 14 days. We appeal to Nigerians to always use the opportunity of this display to alert the Commission about ineligible registrants, including underaged persons and aliens, as well as incorrect details of registrants.

    Second, also as required by law, we have consistently given political parties copies of the register for each year and ahead of general elections as well as Governorship off-season elections. Only recently, on 28th February 2018, we gave each of the 68 political parties a copy of the register containing names of the 3.9 million new voters registered in 2017. We urged them to use the register not only to reach out to voters, but also to check whether there are ineligible persons on the list and draw the attention of the Commission to them. Unfortunately, since this Commission was inaugurated in 2015, there has not been a single report from any political party of ineligible voters on the Register.

    Third, we have been working with the Nigerian Immigration Service to eliminate aliens from the Register by confiscating PVCs from aliens who are not entitled to vote, thereby identifying them for removal from the Register. Furthermore, the Immigration Service has promised to post their officials to registration centres during CVR to check the incidence of alien registrants.

    Fourth, we intend through our Registration Area Officers (RAOs) to engage communities in all our 8,809 Registration Areas or Wards on a continuous basis to identify deceased persons and other ineligible registrants for removal from the Register. We have developed a RAOs Log Book specifically for this engagement. We appeal to Nigerians to cooperate with them in identifying ineligible registrants for removal.

    Fifth, we intend to include major civil society groups and the media in the publication of the Register of Voters in the future. Section 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides that the Register be published 30 days before a general election. In addition to political parties, we intend to include other categories of stakeholders by making available copies of the register to them. Of course, this is without prejudice to the right of every Nigerian to apply for and receive the Register on the payment of the necessary fees as enshrined in the Electoral Act. We hope that CSOs and the media will also join in identifying ineligible registrants for removal.

    Sixth, after the ongoing CVR, which as the law provides will end not later than 60 days to the forthcoming general elections on 16th February 2019 – please note that the law says not later than 60 days, which means that the CVR must end on or before the 60th day to the election –  we intend to display not only the provisional register, but the entire Register at all the Registration Areas/Wards across the country. This again will provide a good opportunity for all citizens to interrogate the Register and identify ineligible registrants, including underaged persons, for removal.

    Finally, the Commission notes the recommendation of the Nahuche Committee that collaboration between INEC and SIECs is necessary to improve the quality of elections in Nigeria, including Local Government elections. In fact, INEC has forged a longstanding relationship with the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FORSIECON), the umbrella body of SIECs. We shall continue to collaborate with FORSIECON towards establishing robust pathways to improving the quality of all elections conducted in Nigeria. Some of the ideas already mooted include drafting of a model law establishing SIECs to bring them in line with the Electoral Act and global best practices, as well as the development of voluntary “Guiding Principles for the Conduct of Free, Fair and Credible Elections in Nigeria” to which we expect all 37 Election Management Bodies in Nigeria to accede.

    Ironically there has been a silver lining in the cloud of allegations of underaged voting in the Kano State Local Government elections. It is providing the Commission an opportunity to take another look at the Register and to engage with stakeholders on how to continue to update and improve it, particularly through the removal of ineligible registrants. As we have consistently promised Nigerians, as a Commission, we shall continue to be open to criticisms, accept shortcomings and take bold corrective steps whenever necessary. All we ask is for Nigerians to see election and the processes related to it, not as the business of INEC alone, but as a collective national project.

     

    • Prof Yakubu is the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission

     

  • NASS yet to inform us of Senator’s death-INEC

    Thirty days after his demise, the National Assembly is yet to officially inform the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the death of Senator Mustapha Bukar who represented Katsina North Daura) as required by the law

    Head of Department, Voter Education of the Katsina state branch of INEC, Alhaji Albani Takai, told our correspondent exclusively that failure of the legislators to perform this statutory function is affecting the electoral umpire’s plan to conduct a bye-election in the senatorial district.

    According to him: ”We are yet to receive official notification from the Senate concerning Senator Bukar’s death and we cannot do anything at the moment until that happens.

    “Statutorily we have 90 days from the death of the Senator and 30 days on the official receipt of his death from the senate to conduct a bye -election.”

    On the current voters registration exercise in the state , he said the exercise has entered the second quarter of 2018 and ongoing with some modifications from mobile residential areas to the rural areas though not involving the polling units.

    Takai further denied allegations of registration of under-aged children, adding there were strict security arrangements to prevent the possibility.

  • INEC absolves self of blame in Kano child voting

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) committee on alleged underage voting in Kano has absolved the commission of any role in the incident.

    The National Commissioner Abubakar Nahuche-led committee, whose report was made public yesterday, posited that Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (SIIEC) did not use the INEC voter register to accredit voters before the elections.

    Besides, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the voter register was not in use in most polling units.

    Yakubu therefore said the commission was not responsible for the alleged underage voting, as it has not been linked with the presence of underage registrants on the voter register.

    On the amount spent on the failed recall exercise of the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Mr. Dino Melaye, Yakubu said the commission spent a little over N100 million.

    The INEC boss who briefed journalists yesterday on the outcome of the report of the committee set up to investigate the allegation that underage people voted in the last Kano Local Government election, stressed that the commission’s involvement in the said election was limited to legal requirement of providing voter register.

    He reiterated that the committee assignment was plainly to inquire into claims linking the register of voters compiled by INEC and the alleged incidents of underage voting in the election.

    Why not denying the report that the February 10, 2018 local government election in Kano was characterised by underage voting, he said the committee’s assignment did not cover the general conduct of the election.

    He also said the commission has no legal authority to investigate Kano SIEC.

    Yakubu, however, called for closer work between the commission and SIECs to ensure improvements in the quality of elections conducted in Nigeria.

    He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, let me emphasise first that INEC was not in any way involved in organising the Kano State Local Government election beyond the legal requirement that the register of voters compiled by INEC should be used in all local government elections nationwide. “The conduct of that election was entirely the responsibility of KANSIEC.

    “Secondly, let me also emphasise that the investigation committee was not established to inquire into the organisation or challenges of KANSIEC.

    “Indeed, INEC has no legal remit to do so.”

  • We spent N100m on Melaye’s recall – INEC

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said on Friday the Commission spent only N100million on the failed bid to recall the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye.

    Yakubu said at a press conference in Abuja that the figure was nowhere near the N100billion reported in several quarters.

    He said: “A recall exercise is just like conducting a Senatorial election. The Kogi-West which Melaye represents has 552 polling units and seven local governments.”

     

  • INEC, CSOs urges parties to give opportunities to women, disabled

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Civil Society Organization, CSOs, have stressed the need for women, youths, disabled individuals and other marginalized section of society to be allowed to participate in party politics during the 2019 general election.

    The representatives of these groups stated this in Abakaliki on Thursday during a one day programme tagged: “Ebonyi Party Engagement with Marginalized Groups” organized by United States Agency for International Development, USAID and International Republican Institute, IRI at Monabliss Hotels and Suites, Abakaliki.

    Welcoming the participants who were drawn from various political parties across the 13 local government areas of the State, the Resident Programme Officer of IRI, Husan Hassan stated that essence of the programme was to place responsibility on political parties towards ensuring that they include women, youths and disabled individuals in governance and running of party affairs.

    Hassan called on political parties to go beyond the outcome of elections and connect with the citizenry through the implementation of constituency programmes and projects that would better the lot of the people.

    According to her, marginalized segments of the society should be allowed to take decision through their occupation of executive positions in political parties across the State.

    In her remarks, INEC gender Desk officer, Ebonyi state, Mrs. Idam Esther stated that the Commission had stressed the need for women to be allowed to actively participate in politics as an all-inclusive arrangement would help to reposition and reenergize the political
    arena in Nigeria’s democratic setting in the country.

    “INEC is working hard to ensure that the election in 2019 is all inclusive; INEC is saying that women should be active in politics; there is need for women, youths and disabled to be included both in election and decisions within the party.”

    Presenting a paper titled: “Improving the participation of marginalized groups in political party processes”, the Programme Officer of IRI, Sunday Alao, emjoined political parties to create platforms within their parties where issues surrounding the welfare and political future of the youths are discussed and enforced so that the youths can be carried along in active politics.

    Alao called on the marginalized groups to take the opportunities provided by political parties and get involved in party affairs so that they can emerge as flag bearers of their parties in the 2019 general election.

    Meanwhile, the All Progressive Congress, APC represented by Pastor Victor Elemnnali and KOWA party, Comrade Adibe Nwafor Jenifer announced free nomination forms for women and youths in the 2019
    general elections.

  • INEC ready with four million PVCs

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will from next week begin to distribute four million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to those who registered in 2017.

    INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke at the INEC Campus Outreach on “Youth Votes Count’’ at the University of Abuja yesterday,  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 eight million new voters in the CVR.

    “We have registered about four 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.