Help us identify minors, names of deceased persons and errors on the voters list
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on Nigerians to help the commission identify underage persons on the preliminary voter register for the 2023 elections.
The call was made on Monday, November 14, when INEC spokesperson Festus Okoye appeared on Channels Television.
Speaking on the TV show, Okoye said the essence of the preliminary voter register was for Nigerians to make claims, raise objections and identify biodata errors.
He said;
“The essence of this publication is that Nigerians are helping the commission to further clean up the voter register.
“We want people to look at the register and help the commission check if their names have been spelled correctly; whether their personal data has been entered correctly; if some images are not upside down; whether there are still names of deceased persons on the register; if there are obviously minors on the register, so that we can correct them.
When asked if Nigerians could trust the INEC voter list, Okoye said the commission could not honestly claim that the register was free of errors.
He added;
“We cannot honestly claim that the registry is error-free. If the legislators believe that the register should not contain errors or disputes, they will not have provided in article 19, sub-section 1-3 that such a register should be displayed so that people can make complaints, objections or lodge complaints.
“We agree that the registry is not perfect; because it’s not perfect, that’s why we have this posting for complaints and objections.
“We use our automated biometric identification system to remove multiple and duplicate registrations, then we make what we call a manual decision to remove obviously underage people.
“Apparently, there are still obviously underage people on the voter register and we expect Nigerians to check the voter register, both those we have posted at the various registration centers and LGAs and also on the website, and assisting the commission to report these things so that the commission can still clean up the register.
