Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Thursday disclosed that 2.4 million names of registered voters involved in double registration were removed prior to the 2023 general elections.
Professor Yakubu who disclosed this during an interactive session with the joint Senate and House of Representatives’ Electoral Matters, observed that most states do not have laws and resources required to acquire BVAS and ballot boxes to conduct Local Government elections.
While noting that the Commission had made tremendous improvement in the deployment of BVAs during some off-cycle elections conducted so far, he argued that the challenges faced in uploading the results during the 2023 general elections was because it was the first time the technology was used for the election of such magnitude in the country.
While noting that INEC cannot enforce the Electoral Act on the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), he observed that any attempt to do so, may lead to litigation and be misconstrued by the public.
While responding to a question on the low percentage of turnout for elections, the INEC boss who gave insight into some of the complaints raised by stakeholders, noted that some of the electorate desist from voting as a result of unfulfilled promises made by politicians during election campaigns.
Also speaking on the Electoral Offences Commission, Professor Yakubu, who noted that the bill was passed through a Third Reading by the Senate in the 9th Assembly, expressed dismay why it was not passed by the House.
While stressing that the Commission does not have the capacity to investigate and prosecute electoral offenders since some of the INEC staff may be implicated in such misdemeanours, he maintained that such responsibility should be given to agencies with the requisite capacity.
To this end, he underscored the need for the implementation of Justice Uwais and Senator Ken Nnamani’s recommendations.
He further noted that the Commission is working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) the prosecute election offenders.
He also tasked the National Assembly on the need to put a timeline for the conclusion of all election offence cases, adding that the litigation may last between 5 to 10 years if such provision is not made in the legislation.
On the relocation of INEC officers from Local Government council headquarters across the country, Professor Yakubu disclosed that the Commission has so far moved 700 INEC offices to its facilities in order to guarantee independence.
While noting that the Commission managed over 176,000 polling units across the 774 Local Government Councils across the country, he reiterated the Commission’s resolve to improve the database.
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