No eligible Nigerian will be left out of the electoral process on account of displacement, disability or other circumstances- INEC

ORU Leonard

The Chairman, lndependent National Electroal Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu has said that no eligible Nigerian will be left out of the electoral process on account of displacement, disability or other circumstances that may limit citizens’ participation in the electoral process.

Professor Yakubu stated this in his welcome remarks during the Stakeholders’ Validation Workshop for 2022 Revised Framework and Regulations for internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to him, the revised framework is for the increased number of IDPs as a result of widespread insecurity nationwide and to incorporate not only the displaced citizens arising from armed conflicts but also natural emergencies such as flooding.

Prof Yakubu also noted that the reversed was to align the framework with the National policy and with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, specifically Section 24(1) which empowers the Commission to ensure that, as far as practicable, no Nigerian is disenfranchised on account of displacement by emergency situations.

Prof Yakubu said he looked forward for the input of all stakeholders that
would enrich the framework as well as the regulations for voting by IDPs to enable them finalise the document ahead of the forthcoming 2023 General Election.

The INEC Chairman clarification in respect of a statement attributed to a section of the civil society organisations.

“At a media briefing yesterday, the Commission was accused of failure to display the voters’ register as provided by Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2022. This claim is incorrect.

“What the Commission displayed for claims and objections in our Local Government Area offices nationwide for a period of one week, from 15th – 21st August 2022, was not the entire register of voters but the list of fresh registrants at the end of the Fourth and last quarter of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise covering the period from 11th April – 31st July 2022.

“This has been the practice for several years. Earlier, the Commission had displayed the register three times: 24th – 30th September 2021 (First Quarter), 24th – 30th December 2021 (Second Quarter) and 26th March – 1st April 2022 (Third Quarter).

“A comprehensive schedule of the CVR exercise and the display of the register was shared with stakeholders at our quarterly meeting just before the inception of the exercise in June last year.

“We wish to assure Nigerians that the Commission will display the comprehensive register in all the 8,809 Wards and 774 Local Government Areas/Area Councils nationwide as envisaged in Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.

“This will integrate fresh voters registered under the last CVR exercise to the existing register of over 84 million voters.

“The date will be announced as soon the Commission completes the ongoing Automated Biometric Identification” he explained.