We have wiped out over 3000 fake voters in Imo, says INEC

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By our correspondent

A statement by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in which it assured Nigerians of speedy and comprehensive clean up of the Voter register ahead of the 2023 General Election has vindicated us, Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP has said.

In a reaction on Friday, CUPP however noted that INEC admission to the alleged discrepancies in the voter register and related electoral fraud has further vindicated the opposition parties .

The coalition specifically noted the renewed resolve by the Commission to openly prosecute those fingered in the alleged widespread falsification of the voters register.

The opposition parties in a statement signed by its spokesman Bar Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere also welcomed the assurance by INEC to investigate the reported secrete move by some undemocratic elements to force the commission to dump the use of the widely accepted Bimodal Voters Accreditation System ( BVAS) machine in the 2023 election .

“And for the avoidance of doubt, the exposed discrepancies by opposition parties in Voter register in 22 APC controlled states was not to witch-hunt any person or group of persons ,but a patriotic move by CUPP to further alert INEC and indeed Nigerians of desperate plot by some undemocratic forces to compromise 2023 election”, he said.

CUPP in the statement noted that the assurance by the commission to flush out the fake names and the resolve to prosecute those behind the alleged electoral fraud would further help to douse the tension in some states where this unprecedented manipulations were already uncovered .

It noted with interest the swift response of INEC to an earlier press conference by the opposition during which the coalition raised alarm over alleged high profile plot by agents working for 22 APC controlled states to compromise the 2023 election.

The coalition commended the bold steps already taken by the commission for instance to delete so far over 3,000 fake names in the Voter register from a particular ward in governor Hope Uzodinma’s local government area.

“We are happy that the commission admitted some of the discrepancies we had earlier raised in the register but we want to particularly commend the commission for taken the necessary steps to address this monumental electoral fraud which in our mind were perpetuated by those working to compromise the 2023 election . INEC by alluding to the exposed discrepancies for instance on Imo state has further vindicated the opposition parties which had on Wednesday alerted Nigerians of plot by APC controlled states to rig the 2024 election.

“As opposition parties we await the final cleaned list by the commission, and this is the only way to douse the tension already generated by this fraud”, he said.

It would be recalled that INEC had in the statement signed by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Mr Festus Okoye Esq admitted the alleged discrepancies in the Voter register by Cupp and however confirmed that the commission had since commenced the cleaning of the Voter list ahead of the forthcoming general election.

According to him “it is only after the cleanup and claims and objections have been completed that the final register will be published.”

The Commission will continue to provide the public with updates on the progress of these processes, as we did through our Press Release of 12 September 2022. The ABIS for the period of registration between 15th January and 31st July is being concluded presently, and the outcome in terms of multiple and ineligible records will be made public.

For instance, in Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, Gov Uzodinma place where the Commission allegedly registered ineligible persons, 3,316 ineligible registrants have so far been invalidated and the process is still ongoing.

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 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.

Further, in line with Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, after the ABIS and clean up, the Commission shall appoint a period of seven days during which the register will be published for scrutiny by the public.

“Nigerians should be reassured of the Commission’s commitment to the credibility of the electoral process in Nigeria”, he added.