INEC tasks electorate on identifying under-aged, dead, foreigners in voters’ register

INEC in Lagos State has urged electorates to assist the commission in identifying underaged persons, dead people and foreigners in its voters’ register.

The commission made the appeal following the display of voters’ register of newly captured applicants, in the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) which commenced on Friday.

The commission said the display was essentially for claims and objectives.

The commission on Monday, announced the temporary suspension of the CVR online pre-registration, and physical biometric capturing exercises, to embark on the display of the voters’ register.

INEC had ended the first quarter of its CVR online pre-registration of voters, which started on June 28 and in-person biometric registration, that commenced on July 26 nationwide.

INEC’s spokesman in the state, Mr Femi Akinbiyi, told the Newsmen in Lagos that registered voters, should visit INEC offices in the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, from Sept. 4 to 30 to check the register.

Akinbiyi advised the new registrants to check if there were errors in their details for necessary corrections, before the printing of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

According to him, while carrying out the check, applicants are also expected to identify from the register, any under-aged, dead, foreigners and other unqualified persons whose names appeared on it.

He said: “The exercise is to give room for all registrants to check for appropriateness or otherwise of their information supplied during the registration.

”The seven-day long activity that commenced today, is also to raise objections (if any) about names that are not supposed to be on the register.

”The commission will also use the period for other necessary housekeeping (backend) activities, in preparation for the next quarter,”.

Akinbiyi said that since voters’ register was key to credible polls, the commission was not leaving any stones unturned, in cleaning the register, in its efforts to ensure free and fair elections.

A correspondent, who monitored the exercise at an INEC office in Alimosho LGA, observed that registrants were trickling in to check their names.

An elderly man, Mr Adetoye Alabi, commended the commission for the opportunity, saying it was necessary to ensure correctness of the information supplied during the registration.