By In response to a press conference addressed by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) on the Register of Voters for the 2023 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission, has said it is yet to release a new voters’ register.
In a statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, on Wednesday, INEC said “no new registrant has yet been added to the Register of Voters for the 2023 General Election or will be included until these supplemental activities have been completed in line with the law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we restate the main components of these activities. First, the Commission is conducting a comprehensive Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup of the registration data by scrutinising every record. Based on the Electoral Act 2022, any record that does not meet all the criteria for inclusion as stipulated in Section 10, including the appearance in person by the registrant at the registration venue with proof of identity, age and nationality and our business rules requirements of adequate number of fingerprints and clear pictures will be invalidated.”
The statement went further to state that in Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, 3,316 ineligible registrants have so far been invalidated for various reasons.
“We appeal to the public to await the Commission’s display of the register for claims and objections to raise any concerns that they may have about the registration. We reiterate that our ABIS is robust and will detect practically all the ineligible records for removal.
“Nigerians should be reassured of the Commission’s commitment to the credibility of the electoral process in Nigeria. We appeal for your support while we painstakingly deal with the cleanup of the register and other processes that will guarantee that the general election in 2023 is free, fair, credible and inclusive,” the statement concluded.
