The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports that it disenfranchised over seven million voters in the last nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
INEC explained that the number either failed to complete the online registration or did not appear in person for the completion of the process initiated by them.
Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in a statement Monday, saying “Some 7,043,594 applicants did not complete the registration.”
He said that it is misleading to suggest that some seven million Nigerians who applied for online pre-registration as voters during the last nationwide CVR were denied the opportunity to complete their registration and consequently the collection of their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
According to Okoye,“To set the record straight, Nigerians may recall that on 28th June 2021, the Commission introduced the online pre-registration of voters. By doing so, citizens were given the opportunity to commence the registration online and then book for an appointment at their convenience to complete the physical Biometric Capture at designated centres.
” It was a novel idea leveraging on technology to ease the registration process. This was in addition to the walk-in option at physical centres, where Nigerians can commence and complete thier registration simultaneously without going through the online pre-registration procedure.
“In the interest of transparency, the Commission provided weekly statistical updates on the exercise.
“For the online pre-registration, a total 10,487,972 commenced the process. However, by the deadline of the exercise, 3,444,378 Nigerians completed their pre-registration physically at the designated centres in line with the Commission’s policy.
“Some 7,043,594 applicants did not complete the registration. Again, the Commission made the information public. This is what some people are now using to say that they were denied the opportunity when in reality they failed to either complete the online enrolment or appear physically at the designated centres to complete the process.”
He further explained that the breakdown of the 7,043,594 incomplete online pre-registrations is as follows:
4,161,775 citizens attempted but either did not complete online pre-registration or abandoned it and went for the physical registration instead.
While 2,881,819 registrants completed the online pre-registration but did not show up to complete the physical Biometric Capture at designated centres before the deadline.
He stressed that it was clear that no one deliberately denied the opportunity to complete their online pre-registration.
Okoye appealed appealed to citizens to always adhere to timelines as against the endless agitation for eleventh hour extension of set deadlines.