INEC commences major clean-up to remove names of dead people from voter register, partners NPC

macfranc007 February 28, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Eromosele Ebhomele

- Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), says the organisation will clean-up the voter register ahead of 2019

- Yakubu says to achieve this, INEC will have to work the National Population Commission (NPC)

- He expresses belief that a clean-up of the register will help with a free and fair election

The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, February 27, urged the National Population Commission (NPC) to furnish it with record of dead citizens since 2015 to enable it to “sanitise’’ the voter register, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The report said the chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, made the request when he visited the head of NPC, Eze Duruiheoma, in Abuja as he said the records were necessary to enable the electoral umpire to remove names of dead persons from the national voter register.

“We will like to partner NPC and ask that the population commission make available records of dead citizens since 2015 to enable us take necessary steps to remove them from the voter register.

“We are confident that you will oblige us so that we can further clean up our voter register ahead of the 2019 general elections,” Yakubu said adding that the commission is determined to do whatever it takes to sanitise the voter register as a free, fair and credible election is dependent on it.

He said the constitution provides an opportunity for the two organisations to work together.

“While INEC is saddled with the responsibility of registering eligible voters, the population commission registers births and deaths of citizens across the country,” he added.

He disclosed that a draft copy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both agencies had been submitted to the population commission for its consideration, stressing: “When the MoU is signed, it will formalise and enhance collaboration between the sister agencies for the general development of the country.”

Responding, Duruiheoma commended INEC for the initiative to sanitise the voter register using records of NPC.

He said the collaboration between the sister agencies in the performance of statutory duties was very pivotal to national development.

In his response, Duruiheoma, said: “if we get our elections and censuses right, our nation will be on the way to greatness.”

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He promised that the NPC would commence the process of making the records of deaths across the country available to INEC.

“We look forward to the day when every single birth or death case will be efficiently documented by the commission,” Duruijeoma said.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that YIAGA Africa’s WatchingTheVote recently observed that there is an upsurge in the demand for registration by citizens which the group say, must be met by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to an observation report released by the citizen-led election observation initiative and sent to NAIJ.com, the group noted that the challenge remains that some people are not aware of the location of CVR centers while some of the machines in use are obsolete and have been breaking down in the course of registration.

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