The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Has Uncovered The Presence Of Deceased Nigerians On The Current Voters’ Register.

The Commission Has Now Announced Plans To Carry Out A Nationwide Verification Exercise To Clean Up The Register And Restore Public Confidence In The Electoral System.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, Revealed This Development On Wednesday During The Commission’s First Quarterly Engagement With Civil Society Organisations.

He Said The Discovery Was Made After A Review Of Voter Data From Recent Elections.

According To Him, The Verification Exercise Will Focus On Removing Ineligible Names And Correcting Errors Found In The Database.

He Stressed That The Credibility Of Elections Depends Largely On The Accuracy Of The Voters’ Register.

Amupitan Explained That Irregularities Became Clear During An Assessment Of Voter Turnout In Anambra State’s Off-Cycle Governorship Election Held In November.

He Said,

“When We Look At The Voters Register For Anambra State During The Off Cycle Elections In November, We Discovered That The Number Of Registered Voters Stood At Over 2.9 Million, But Only About 600 Came Out To Vote.

“This Is Just About 20 Percent Of The Registered Voters. So, We Decided To Take Another Look At The Register And We Discovered Names Of Prominent Nigerian Politicians Who Have Died Still On The Register. That Impact On The Integrity Of The Register And We Have To Do A Clean Up Because We Don’t Expect The Dead To Come From The Grave To Vote”.

The INEC Chairman Noted That The Situation Raises Serious Concerns About The Reliability Of The Register Currently Being Used For Elections.

He Concluded That The Commission Would Work With Relevant Agencies To Verify Records And Remove Names Of Deceased Persons.