The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started the nationwide display of details of newly registered voters in the first quarter of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission on Friday started the display of details at local government offices across the country.
The display which would end on Sept. 30 is to allow for claims and objections by Nigerians.
NAN correspondent who visited the INEC office in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Karu on Saturday, reports that the register had been displayed at the office.
Mrs. Ndidi Okafor, Head, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC FCT, in an interview with NAN confirmed that the details were also being displayed at INEC offices in five other area councils of the FCT.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye, had on Monday, in Abuja, said that Section 19 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), mandated INEC to publish the register of voters.
Okoye said the section mandated that the register must be displayed for a period of not less than five days and not more than 14 days.
This is to allow for public scrutiny during which citizens may make claims and objections.
“In compliance with the law, the register of new voters will be displayed in the local government offices of the commission nationwide from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30.
“The aim is to enable citizens to assist the commission by identifying ineligible registrants on the list ahead of the cleaning up of the register before adding the fresh registrants to the current register and the printing of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for future elections.
“For clarity, ineligible registrants include foreigners and Nigerians below the age of 18.”
Okoye urged Nigerians to assist INEC to identify multiple registrants and deceased persons so that they could be removed from the register.
The commission had announced that from the inception of the exercise on July 28, the number of fresh online pre-registrants now stood at 3,165,189 as of Monday 7 a.m.
It also disclosed that within the 12 weeks of the exercise, 1,457,766 Nigerians had applied for voter transfer, replacement of PVCs and update of their voter information records.
It also disclosed that 1,081,947 new registrants had completed their physical registration.
The national commissioner stated that the second quarter of the exercise would begin on Oct. 4, and end on Dec. 20.
(NAN)
