By Aaron Ossai
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has said that the Commission will publish the entire preliminary register containing 93,522,272 registrants between November 12 and 25 2022.
A statement by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye said the publication will enable citizens make claims and objections as required by law and that the methodology for the exercise has also been approved.
It said that the physical copies of the register will be displayed in all the 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) and 774 Local Government Areas on polling unit basis nationwide adding that for the first time, the soft copy of the entire register will also be published on the Commission’s website.
“The register will give the name, picture, date of birth and Voter Identification Number (VIN) of each registered voter. However, for data protection and security reasons, critical information such as biometric details, residential addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of voters will not be made public on both the physical and soft copies.
“During the display, any person may make a claim that the name of a registered voter has been omitted, make corrections on his/her personal details on the register, raise an objection against the inclusion of any person not qualified to vote or the name of a dead person on the register
“As the exercise commences on Saturday 12th November 2022, we appeal to Nigerians to seize the opportunity to scrutinize the register and draw the Commission’s attention to any corrections in their personal particulars and any malicious registrations, multiple registrants, non-Nigerians or any other person not qualified to be on the register.
“Detailed clarification on the processes and procedures for the exercise, including relevant forms, can be obtained from the Commission’s officials at the points of display at Registration Areas (Wards) and Local Government Areas. The information has also been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms.
“By the provisions of the law, cleaning up the voters’ register is a collective national responsibility. So far, the Commission has weeded out ineligible registrants using our Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS). By working together with citizens, we can clean the register further as it is the critical foundation for credible elections”, the statement read.
