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Tag: Inec

  • Judge dismisses request to transfer INEC officials’ case

    Judge dismisses request to transfer INEC officials’ case

    Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday refused to transfer the case of two Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, Christian Nwosu and Tijani Inda Bashir, who were accused of receiving bribe, to another judge.

    The judge rejected an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he should hands off the case having rejected Nwosu’s plea bargain agreement.

    Justice Idris held that since the defendants were re-arraigned on an amended charge and pleaded not guilty, Nwosu’s earlier plea of guilty no longer matters.

    The defendants were accused of receiving N30million bribe from former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 general election results.

    They were arraigned alongside Yisa Adedoyin, who pleaded guilty to receiving N70.050 million cash payment from the former minister, who is named in the charge but is “at large.”

    Nwosu pleaded guilty when he was first arraigned, but Justice Idris rejected a plea bargain agreement he reached with the EFCC on the basis that it was not “appropriate.”

    Justice Idris gave Nwosu the option of changing his plea to not guilty, or accepting a heavier sentence, including N10million fine as provided in the law.

    Nwosu changed his plea to not guilty when he was re-arraigned.

    EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo, said based on Section 270 (15) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, the judge should return the case-file for re-assignment to another judge, as he could be accused of bias later, having rejected the plea bargain agreement.

    But, Nwosu’s lawyer, Victor Opara, said since the judge had rejected the plea bargain agreement for not being in compliance with the law, it indicated that there was no plea bargain.

    However, Justice Idris held on Wednesday that since the defendants were re-arraigned on an amended charge, it was as if they were arraigned for the first time.

    “I agree with the view that the prosecution having amended the charge and fresh plea taken by the first defendant in line with the ACJA, the court is being enjoined to commence fresh proceedings as if he has been arraigned for the first time.

    “Section 217 (1) and (2) of the ACJA says: ‘Where a new charge is framed or alteration made to a charge under the provisions of section 216 of this Act, the court shall call on the defendant to plead to the new or altered charge as if he has been arraigned for the first time.

    “‘The court shall proceed with the trial as if the new or altered charge had been the original charge,” the judge held.

     

  • Atiku seeks transfer of power to appoint INEC chair to NJC

    Atiku seeks transfer of power to appoint INEC chair to NJC

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday advocated the transfer of the power to appoint Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman from the President to the National Judicial Council (NJC).
    Atiku, who spoke while receiving the Hero of Nigeria Democracy Award, said winners of elections should not be sworn in until all the legal challenges to such elections are disposed of.
    He added that funding of the electoral umpire should be drawn  from the first line charge in the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
    The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said restricting the Nigeria federation and devolving power to the federating states and decentralising governance remain the only way forward for a true Nigeria.
    He blamed the quest for power beyond the regions by First Republic leaders for the crisis that brought the nation to its present state.
    The former vice president, who spoke on the topic: “Building a Nation that Works: My Diary and Way Forward”, lamented that the Nigerian nation doesn’t quite work the way it should, adding that the citizens must identify the reasons and steps needed to make it work well for all.
    He said: “To further strengthen our democracy, we need to reform our politics, especially by reforming our electoral system. Such reform must ensure that those who emerge as winners after an election are really those freely chosen by the people.
    “The electoral reform should largely be along the lines recommended by the Justice Mohammad Uwais panel on electoral reforms.
    “For example, funding the electoral umpire from the first line charge in the Consolidated Revenue Fund is critical; transferring the power to appoint the chairman of the electoral umpire from the President to the National Judicial Council will help, as will efforts to curb the role of money and godfathers in our elections.
    “I have also been arguing that the declared winner of an election should not be allowed to assume office until all legal challenges to that election have been resolved. The recent Supreme Court decision nullifying the election of a member of the House of Representatives and ordering him to refund the pay that he had collected as a member is an encouraging sign.
    “Hopefully that decision will serve as a disincentive to those aspirants and candidates who wish to engage in electoral fraud.
    He criticised the federal system as “unitary federalism, saying it’s characterised by the centralisation of power and resources, with the resulting excessive dependence on the centre by federating units. ”

  • Agenda for INEC

    SIR: Despite the commendable contributions and efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the democratic dispensation in Nigeria, one major factor that made their selfless job looks so ordinary has been poor executions and deliveries.

    The commission must embrace wide consultations and expert opinions on how to better their plans and have itch free executions of the task ahead of them come the general elections in 2019. The expectations of Nigerians are high.

    Voters’ eligibility and verification of voters name on election day prior to voting is excessive and strenuous. It is frustrating and disappointing for eligible voters to be disenfranchised on election day simply because their names are not found on the INEC list of eligible voters due to omission by some corrupt staff and saboteurs among the commission or unintentional error of omission. Whichever one, it can be avoided. Such individuals or group of persons will be hurt and election violence could erupt as a result with the thought that INEC intentionally disenfranchised them to favour an opposition parties.

    INEC can avoid this costly error by adopting better ways which include allowing eligibility verifications to be done weeks before elections via different means.

    Firstly, INEC can liaise with the communication operators in Nigeria for eligibility confirmation just like the Bank verification numbers (BVN) which will reveal names, voting centre and wards with a unique code attached to individuals to deal with multiple registrations.

    Secondly, INEC should make lists of eligible voters ready in different wards several weeks  across the country before elections.

    Lastly, the commission should display all eligible voters’ verification lists on its website, their polling centres, wards and constituencies throughout the nation.

    Any registered individuals whose eligibility is not confirmed can lodge complaints to the commission via online form, registered phone numbers and their wards for immediate and necessary actions.

    This measure will reduce disenfranchisement, time wasting and associated unrest during elections. This will afford the commission good time for counting, collation and movement.

    Ballots papers can be coded uniquely from ward to ward. And only in case of theft and damages, supplementary papers different from the real one can be used not the same day of the election to avoid violence and manipulation. Also the consideration of using any of the index finger and the thumb should be seen as a major way to addressing the high rate of bad votes especially among the uneducated voters and the voters in the rural areas.

    INEC should ensure that all activities are recorded electronically capturing major areas of the exercise including voting procedures, counting, comments and recommendations, attestation by parties’ representatives and announcement. Any result without these should be seen as fraud, null and void. This will foster elections tribunals’ judgements and avoid unnecessary associated delays.

    Nigeria indigenes in diaspora and inmates should not be disenfranchised. INEC should make available platforms for the Nigerians living outside the country to enrol on-line via INEC website across the world. Inmates too hold the rights to vote for candidates of their choices.

    Elections in Nigeria can set the pace and make voters votes truly count if these suggestions are put into use.

     

    • Adebusoye Francis,

    Ibadan, Oyo State.

  • When ‘ll INEC conduct Anambra Central rerun?

    When ‘ll INEC conduct Anambra Central rerun?

    In this piece, a commendator, Michael Jegede, writes on the agitations of political parties for the conduct of the Anambra Central Senatorial rerun by the electoral umpire.

    Eighteen months after the Enugu Division of Court of Appeal quashed the election of Mrs. Uche Ekwunife as the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, and ordered a rerun poll to be held within 90 days (from the date the judgement was delivered), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to conduct the exercise. Hence, the people of the senatorial district have remained unrepresented and continued to be denied the opportunity of feeling the positive impact of governance from all that should rightfully accrue to them through their representative in the Senate.

    The Supreme Court had on February 10, 2017, ruled that the December 7, 2015 verdict of the Court of Appeal on the Anambra Central Senatorial election was final forever. The apex court maintained that no court can overturn the judgement of the Appellate Court on National Assembly election matters, in line with the letter and spirit of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It made the pronouncement, after Ekwunife ignored the provisions of the Constitution, to appeal the nullification of her election and disqualification from participating in the ordered rerun poll, on the ground that she was not appropriately nominated by her then party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Observers had thought that, following the February 10,  ruling of the Supreme Court on the issue, coupled with the February 13, 2009 verdict of the same Supreme Court that new candidates are not allowed in a court ordered fresh election, INEC would immediately put necessary machinery in motion to conduct the long awaited Anambra Central rerun. Unfortunately, the electoral body has continued to drag its heels and failed to take a firm decision, even though the law appears to be fully on its side to hold the rerun poll, regardless of the so-called pending court cases some politicians in Anambra Central are trying to use to frustrate the conduct of the election.

    Evidently, the electoral body was prepared to conduct the rerun as directed by the Court of Appeal on March 5, 2016, but decided to postpone it indefinitely after the February 29, 2016 order of Justice Anwuli Chikere asking INEC to include the PDP against the ruling of the Appeal Court which disqualified the party and its candidate. The Chikere’s judgement in favour of PDP was believed to have been given to pave way for the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, to replace the disqualified Ekwunife. INEC appealed the decision and that gave rise to other frivolous cases from different litigants all meant to perpetually put the Anambra Central rerun on hold.

    A year after her order compelling INEC to allow the PDP bring in a fresh candidate, the same Justice Chikere gave a conflicting judgement declaring that All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot replace its candidate in the Anambra Central rerun election. The APC had also gone to court last year when INEC refused to allow the party to substitute its original candidate, Senator Chris Ngige, now Minister of Labour with Barrister Sharon Ikeazor after the former voluntarily withdrew from the race.

    In the latest judgement of Chikere, delivered on March 14, 2017, she ruled: “That the time for nomination/withdrawal or substitution of candidates for the Court ordered election in Anambra Central Senatorial District had elapsed; that as decided by the Court of Appeal in the case of LABOUR PARTY VS. INEC (2008) 13 NWLR PT. 1103 PG. 73 (and duly affirmed by the Supreme Court on February 13, 2009), there is no room for fresh candidates in Court ordered election.”

    Again, the recent ruling, in the thinking of those who are genuinely worried about the outright denial of the right of the people of Anambra Central to have a voice in the Red Chamber, should ordinarily give more leeway to INEC to go ahead with the rerun poll without further ado. After all, it has been held that when there are two contradictory rulings on a similar issue from the same court, the decision later in time prevails. So, it is safe to say that Chikere’s latest verdict has taken precedence over the earlier order that PDP must be allowed to participate with a fresh candidate.

    A legal practitioner, Ikechukwu Ikeji, in a recent interview on Channels Television, while decrying INEC’s failure to conduct the Anambra Central Senatorial rerun election, argued that the commission ought not to have announced the indefinite postponement of the exercise in the first place.

    According to Ikeji, “They (INEC) are right in rejecting candidates that were not part of the original general election. But they are wrong in stopping to hold or refraining from holding or not holding that election. INEC has a strong platform, a strong foundation of law to stand on to hold the election and let whatever court processes that was going on to continue. In whatever ramification and dimension you want to talk about it, there is absolutely no challenge stopping INEC legally, morally, and jurisprudentially from holding the election.”

    The legal pundit explained further that “Section 87, subsection 10 of the electoral act (as amended) clearly states that no court process or court proceeding or court order can stop the holding of any general election. And the Supreme Court in the Labour Party and INEC case which is the locus classicus on fresh elections has clearly held that any court ordered election is a general election. And therefore if it is a general election the law says that nothing can stop it from being held. So, it is surprising that INEC hasn’t held that election…  The law is very clear. When you are faced with two judgements of the court, you do not cherry-pick. You obviously have to do one of two things. You obey the one that is later in time or you obey the one that has superior jurisdiction. And the one that has superior jurisdiction is the one that there should be no new candidate for a fresh election.”

    Expressing joy over the March 14, 2017 judgement by Chikere which validated INEC’s position in refusing to accept new candidates for the Anambra Central rerun, the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the appeal on the PDP case will be withdrawn and he urged other parties to follow suit, so that the rerun can be conducted. He said: “We are happy that not long ago, the Supreme Court has given a favourable judgement (the February 10, 2017 verdict) on one of the cases. Also, the lower court (Justice Chikere) has recently given a judgement stating that INEC was right on its decision.” What then is holding INEC from fixing a date for the election? With all the superior judgements on the matter, should the electoral body still be bogged down and confused on the right way to go?

    Responding to Ngige’s recent outburst that the Anambra Central election would not hold until all pending court cases are disposed of, the leading candidate for the rerun contest and former National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, remarked: “I was surprised to read those audacious statements by Dr. Chris Ngige. My surprise stems from the fact that I could not fathom under what capacity Ngige was saying categorically that the poll can never take place until all court cases are cleared. From the question you asked me, he is the Minister of Labour and Employment, he does not work for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC that is empowered by the constitution to conduct elections.”

    Umeh maintained that none of the cases the Labour Minister was referring to in his assertion can stand as legal impediment against the conduct of the rerun, stressing that “The issue of the eligible candidates who can take part in a court ordered fresh election or rerun election has been permanently settled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in its judgment in a case between Labour Party and INEC, which judgment was delivered on the 13th February 2009.”

    He warned that “Ngige should not intimidate INEC in the discharge of its constitutional mandate. The era of intimidation by ruling parties in Nigeria should be over in line with President Buhari’s promise of change. We experienced these things during the PDP days, but now that we are in a government that has preached change, nobody should use his membership of the ruling party or any arm of government to intimidate and dictate to INEC. That is what Ngige has demonstrated, and he has said it everywhere.”

    The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) candidate for the Anambra Central rerun poll, Oby Kate Okafor, has also called on INEC to do the needful by conducting the long delayed election. Okafor gave the electoral body an ultimatum of two months (from April), after which according to her, she might be compelled to sue the commission for unnecessarily delaying the conduct of Anambra Central election.

    Lamenting that people from the senatorial district had lost so much for the past two years due to non-representation, in terms of funds, amenities and empowerment opportunities, she said: “They (Anambra Central people) can no longer afford to waste further time, and they want to be like their counterparts. The issue is that Anambra Central is losing. What I am seeing now is a case of sabotage, because since the election was cancelled nothing has been done.”

    Various groups and individuals have continued to appeal to INEC to take urgent steps towards ensuring the conduct of Anambra Central rerun election in the interest of the citizens of the senatorial zone. It is described as completely unfair that of all the court ordered fresh polls, resulting from the nullification of about 80 National and State Assemblies results in the 2015 general election, only Anambra Central case remains unresolved.

    The people of the constituency are the greatest losers and not the politicians, who are doing everything possible to stop the election from holding. INEC must therefore, be decisive on the Anambra Central rerun. The electoral umpire should not in any way pander to the whims and caprices of those who have lost out and vowed to ensure that the rerun does not hold. The people of the senatorial district have patiently waited for too long.  They deserve to have a voice in the highest legislative body of the country.

    • Michael Jegede, a media expert writes from Abuja.

  • INEC registers 57,737 voters

    At least 57,737 people have been registered in the first three days of the ongoing voter registration exercise.

    4,913 others have also collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    These were people who didn’t collect their PVCs before the last general elections.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee,  Prince Adedeji Soyebi ,disclosed this in a statement issued at the end of the Commission’s  weekly meeting held on Thursday.

    Soyebi said 1,820 people applied for transfer of Polling Units (PUs) and 1,117 others applied for replacement of their PVCs.

    The exercise, which is ongoing in all the Commission’s offices in the 774 local government areas of the federation, the INEC official stated has been peaceful with impressive turnout.

     

     

  • Court convicts INEC staff for accepting N70m bribe from Diezani

    Court convicts INEC staff for accepting N70m bribe from Diezani

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday convicted an employee of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for accepting over N70million bribe from former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 general election results.

    Justice Mohammed Idris convicted Yisa Adedoyin for receiving cash payment of N70,050,000.00 after he pleaded guilty to an amended charge.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned him along with Christian Nwosu and Tijani Inda Bashir.

    They allegedly collected N264.88million bribe on March 27, 2015 from the former minister ahead of the election.

    Nwosu had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted for receiving N30million bribe.

    But, Justice Idris rejected his plea bargain agreement with the EFCC which involved payment of N500,000 fine and forfeiture of properties acquired with the money.

    The judge said Nwosu should either accept a heavier sentence, which includes N10million fine, or change his plea.

    When the defendants were re-arraigned on Wednesday, Nwosu changed his plea to not guilty.

    Adedoyin, who earlier pleaded not guilty, changed his plea to guilty.

    Mrs. Alison-Madueke, said to be at large, was named in the charge.

    Prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, urged the court to convict Adedoyin following his plea and to accept the plea bargain agreement reached with him on May 2.

    It was agreed in the plea bargain that Adedoyin would forfeit a parcel of land measuring 100ft by 100 at Taoheed Road, Budo-Osho Village, Ilorin South Local Government Area in Kwara State.

    “That a fine of N10million is proposed to this Honourable Court to be imposed on him upon his conviction on count four of the amended charge.

    “That in paying the fine of N10million, the defendant shall raise a draft of N5million in addition to the sum of N5million already recovered from him,” the agreement reads in part.

    Reviewing the facts of the case, Oyedepo said EFCC received an intelligence in late 2004 that Mrs. Alison-Madueke received gratification from various oil companies such as Northern Bet Oil and Gas, Auctus Integrated Company and an oil magnate Adesanya Laitan.

    “The total sum received was $115,010,000. It was kept in the custody of a bank which received instructions to convert the sums to naira and distribute to the 36 states and the FCT.

    “Our investigation established that the second defendant (Adedoyin) in conjunction with the first defendant (Nwosu) signed a receipt for N264,880,” Oyedepo said.

    He tendered the receipt and Bashir’s statement in evidence.

    “We discovered that though he signed for a total of N264,880, we found as a fact that he received N70,050,000 from the third defendant.

    “Out of the N70million, he only benefited N28million, which has been forfeited. The property he acquired with it has been recovered. We have the deed of assignment and plan,” Oyedepo said.

  • INEC commissioner urges Nigerians to embrace Continuous Voters Registration

    INEC commissioner urges Nigerians to embrace Continuous Voters Registration

    THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Commissioner in charge of Lagos, Ogun and Ondo states, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, has reiterated the importance of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR), saying that all eligible voters whose names are not in the voters’ register should take advantage of the opportunity provided by the commission. He said without the registration they would not be able to vote in future elections.

    Ogunmola, who made the remark during the kick off of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in Surulere, Lagos said the registration applies to Nigerians who are 18 years and above, who have not registered before and those who have registered but their names are not in the voters’ register.

    He urged the eligible voters to present themselves at the commission’s offices in all local government areas between 9am and 3pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays), to participate in the exercise, adding that Temporary Voters Card (TVC) will be issued to registrants at the point of the day.

    The commissioner said the CVR represents an important milestone in the commission’s mandate to consolidate democracy in the country, by delivering free, fair and credible elections.

    He said: “The primary aim of this event is to register eligible voters who have just matured into the voting age of 18 years and those who for one reason or the other could not register previously, so they can participate in the forthcoming general elections.

    “Related to this aim is the update of the voters’ register, to reflect transfers and deaths in accordance with Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), which requires the commission to update the Voters’ Register and make it available to every political party within 60 days after each year of registration.”

    Ogunmola said the period of the CVR is also an opportunity for those who have registered, but have not collected their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), to do so.

    He said the exercise will equally take care of other cases, such as: “A person who has registered before, but his/her name, photograph and/or fingerprints was/were not captured; this category of person must provide his/her Temporary Voter’s Card (TVC). A person who has a PVC or TVC, but his/her name is not on the register of voters”.

    The commissioner also urged eligible voters that have moved to a different location to seize the opportunity to transfer their registration.

    The procedure for the transfer of registration, he added, could be summarised in the following four steps: “The person seeking to transfer their registration should make an application to the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the state he/she is resident in through his/her Electoral Officer; a Registration Area Officer (RAO) will issue a form, Application for Transfer of a Registered Voter (ECTF), to the registered voter applying for the transfer for approval by the Resident Electoral Officer; once the REC has confirmed that the applicant is resident in the area, the application will be approved and the applicant’s details will be transferred to his/her new location; and the transfer will be accordingly effected on our server.”

    The Sole Administrator, Surulere Local Government, Hon. Sheriff Balogun, said he was happy that the area was chosen for the kick off in Lagos. He urged the people to come out and register, so that they could vote in subsequent elections.

    He said the high turn-out for the kick off suggests that the council had made adequate effort to inform the people about the importance of exercise. He added: “But, since it is a continuous exercise, we will not relent; we will continue to pass across the necessary information to the people, through relevant departments of the local government, to make that all residents of Surulere gets to know about this programme. To assist INEC, we will ensure that posters advertising this registration is displayed all over Surulere and that the leaflets are distributed to the people.

  • Importance of voter registration, by INEC

    Importance of voter registration, by INEC

    An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chinwe Ogbuka, highlights the strategic importance of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) to future elections and democracy.

    One of the key activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC preparatory to the 2019 general elections is the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).The commission  has roled out the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu officially flaged-off  the CVR in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ,while the National Commissioners launched the exercise in states in their respective zones.

    The commission derives its power for this exercise from section 10 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), which empowers it to carry out regular updates of the register of voters through the CVR. Thus: ”Without prejudice to section 10(5) there shall be continuous registration of all persons qualified to be registered voters.”

    The decision to commence the exercise was reached last week at a meeting between the Commission and the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) held at INEC headquarters, Abuja. The Chairman had in a previous meeting during the first quarter of the year, announced that the nation- wide CVR will begin in April.

    Prof. Yakubu, while briefing the RECs and Administrative Secretaries disclosed that the Commission has come up with modalities for the CVR to ensure effectiveness efficiency.

    Of course, CVR is a regular activity of the Commission, particularly before general or governorship elections in states but some innovations are being introduced to ensure that as much as possible, capture every eligible voter who presents himself/ herself for the exercise gets registered.

    Applicant for registration shall appear in person at the registration venue with any of the under listed documents as means of identification; birth or baptismal certificates, international passport, national identity card or driver’s licence, or any other document that will move the identity age and nationality of the applicant. This is necessary if the Registration Officer doubts his/her age or citizenship.

    The CVR provides opportunity for Nigerians who have turned 18 years of age after the last exercise to register. Equally, those who could not register during any of the previous registration exercises will be registered during this year’s  CVR. Also registered voters who have Temporary Voters’ Card (TVCs) but whose names are not on the register of voters have the opportunity to be captured .

    The nationwide CVR is set out to register all those eligible voters who make themselves available for the exercise; to distribute PVCs to those who are yet to collect their cards and to attend to those who wish to transfer their registration to their present location from where they originally registered.

    The CVR  will be done at the local government area offices of the Commission nationwide  for now but this may be extended to other designated areas of the local government in due course.

    The Chairman said at the meeting with RECs that once the exercise takes off, it  will continue at the   local government until close to the 2019 general elections, ‘meaning from now till then, registration will be on- going.  The exercise will scale down to ward level as the election date approaches.’

    The Commission has made adequate arrangement to address the problems of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who have lost their PVCs due to dislocation from their homes. The issue of the IDPs is of paramount importance to the Commission as they are Nigerians who have equal right to elect their leaders. The Commission will reprint PVCs of IDPs and other persons affected by security challenges in all parts of the country, so they can vote during the elections.

    Concerned about the plight of the IDPs, and having realised their right to participate in   electoral process Prof. Yakubu noted that “so many people have returned to their communities and so many have lost their PVCs due to dislocation.’’

    Preparatory to the commencement of the exercise, the Information and Communication Technology ICT department of the Commission has carried out a three- day intensive training on Open VR software, Hard ware maintenance (laptop and accessories) and CVR guidelines for Head Of Department (HOD) ICT and Voter Registry (VR). The HOD/ICT/VR and state trainers conducted training of registration Area Officers (RAOs) at the state offices of the Commission and the training was monitored by The Electoral Institute, the training arm of the Commission, in conjunction with state offices.

    To ensure its readiness for the exercise, the ICT dept has selected sound and functional Direct Data Capture Machines (DDCMs) for the exercise. It has also updated voter enrolment software which will enable data harmonisation with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). All the DDCMs to be deployed are already purged and configured, while the register of voters used for the 2015 general elections is being updated with cases of voter transfers being addressed.

    Since the (CVR) is going to continuous, the Commission will display, on quarterly basis the Preliminary Register of Voters (PRV) for public scrutiny at registration centre for seven days before PVCs are printed. The period of display is for claims and objections, to enable registrants to cross-check their names and ensure that their details are properly captured and names are spelt correctly or to object to any name not being entitled to be in the register.

    For those who intend to relocate or have relocated to a new residence since they registered, the Commission has made adequate arrangements to ensure that they are not denied the opportunity to elect the persons of their choices.

    Such persons who intend to transfer their registration are reminded to apply to INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the state he/she currently resides through the Electoral Officer (EO) of the Local Government Area.

    While efforts are being made to capture all eligible voters across the country, the Commission advises those who are already registered not to register again,  as it is an offence to register more than once. During the period, those who have their cards damaged or lost will be replaced for them following due process.

    INEC has assured Nigerians of credible conclusive elections in 2019 but this requires the cooperation and support of critical stakeholders of which, voters are parts of.  Nigerian citizens can help in advancing the electoral process by ensuring that they get registered. So get registered, collect your PVCs, safeguard them and use them wisely during election as they constitute the necessary requirement to participate in the electoral process.

     

    • Ogbuka is Assistant Publicity Director, INEC.
  • INEC to give special treatment to nursing mothers, pregnant women

    INEC to give special treatment to nursing mothers, pregnant women

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would give special treatment to nursing mothers, people with disability and the aged at the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

    The Administrative Secretary of the commission in Zamfara, Alhaji Abdu Gujungu, said this at the flag-off of the CVR and distribution of Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) in Gusau on Thursday.

    Gujungu noted that pregnant women, nursing mothers and other people with disability deserved special consideration, considering their nature.

    “We have told our personnel in all our centres that whenever any person among these categories of people come to register they should give them special treatment.

    “The exercise which commenced today will continue up to near 2019 general election.

    “Eligible voters who have attained 18 years and those who either lost their cards for any reason, should come and register,’’ he said.

    The scribe commended the support of stakeholders, particularly security agents, traditional rulers and the media.

    He said the commission has over 55,000 unclaimed PVCs.

    Meanwhile, the State Government has urged INEC to increase the number of polling units in the state considering the increase in the population of the people.

    The state acting Governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, made the call on Wednesday during stakeholders meeting organised by the commission to mark the commencement of the exercise in the state.

  • INEC ready for transparent, credible elections in 2019’

    Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)‎ on Thursday said with the introduction of modern technologies, it is ready to conduct more transparent and credible elections in 2019.

    Speaking at the official flag off of the Continuous Voter Register in Wamakko, Sokoto State, the National Commissioner ‎in-charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, Hajiya Amina Zakari, said the commission has improved its transparency drive by introducing e-collation and transmission of results  as well other processes.

    She said, “We want to build and strengthen the confidence of electorates in the commission’s activities towards ‎enfranchising eligible voters and the nation’s democracy.

    “We have networked our activities via Internet facilities provided to ease and project more acceptable data and results.”

    Zakari noted that registered voters are the bedrock of a credible election and electoral processes.

    The INEC official said the CVR has been designed to update and validate voters’ register in accordance with the existing laws as contained in Article 10 of the Electoral Act.