INEC Laments 7m Voters’ Incomplete Registration

• Says over 3.4m persons fulfilled requirements

BY EDMOND ODOK – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern that about 7,043,594 Nigerians that applied for voter registration failed to complete the process before the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) deadline.

Figures released by the electoral umpire indicate that though a total of 10,487,972 eligible voters commenced the online pre-registration process, only 3,444,378 individuals fully completed the exercise physically in line with its existing policy.

Giving a breakdown of the exercise, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye, stated that “4,161,775 citizens attempted but either did not complete online pre-registration or abandoned it and went for the physical registration instead.”

Okoye further explained in a statement that “2,881,819 registrants completed the online pre-registration but did not show up to complete the physical Biometric Capture at designated centres before the deadline”.

The statement, which reacted to allegations that over seven million Nigerians who applied for online pre-registration as voters during the last nationwide CVR were denied the opportunity to complete their registrations, reads in part; “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to media reports that some seven million Nigerians who applied for online pre-registration as voters during the last nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) were denied the opportunity to complete their registration and consequently the collection of their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

“This claim is misleading. To set the record straight, Nigerians may recall that on 28th June 2021, the Commission introduced the online pre-registration of voters. By doing so, citizens were given the opportunity to commence the registration online and then book an appointment at their convenience to complete the physical Biometric Capture at designated centres.

“It was a novel idea leveraging technology to ease the registration process. This was in addition to the walk-in option at physical centres, where Nigerians can commence and complete their registration simultaneously without going through the online pre-registration procedure. In the interest of transparency, the Commission provided weekly statistical updates on the exercise.

“For the online pre-registration, a total of 10,487,972 commenced the process. However, by the deadline of the exercise, 3,444,378 Nigerians completed their pre-registration physically at the designated centres in line with the Commission’s policy. Some 7,043,594 applicants did not complete the registration.

“Again, the Commission made the information public. This is what some people are now using to say that they were denied the opportunity when in reality they failed to either complete the online enrolment or appear physically at the designated centres to complete the process.”

According to the National Commissioner; “Therefore, it is clear that no Nigerians were deliberately denied the opportunity to complete their online pre-registration”, adding; “We appeal to citizens to always adhere to timelines as against the endless agitation for eleventh-hour extension of set deadlines”.