23 INEC registration officers involved in fictitious exercise nabbed

• Commission begins disciplinary action

• Integrity of our voters’ register must be protected, Yakubu vows

• Seeks support of media, CSOs for 2023 polls

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, disclosed, on Thursday, that it has commenced disciplinary action against twenty -three (23) of its Registration Officers involved in the fictitious registrations during the last continuous voter registration CVR exercise in the country.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu made the disclosure in his remarks at the third quarterly meeting with the media in Abuja ahead of next year’s general elections.

Prof Yakubu, who also confirmed this in a similar meeting with the Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, in Abuja, explained that the fictitious registrations were carried out by some of its Registration Officers involved in the field exercise and could easily be traced.

However, the INEC Chairman did not disclose the nature of the disciplinary action being taken against the 23 registration officers.

He specifically pointed out that each registration machine is operated using an access code tied to a dedicated e-mail assigned to a staff.

The INEC Chairman stressed further that with the access code tied to a dedicated e-mail assigned to a staff, there was therefore an audit trail that gives the total number of persons registered by each staff.

He disclosed that in some case, some of them (the said Registration Officers)

made as many as 40 attempts or more to register one fake voter.

The INEC Chairman said, “The Commission deployed thousands of diligent staff for the CVR exercise and the vast majority of them discharged their duties conscientiously.

“Unfortunately, a few of them did not. “The fictitious registrations were carried out by some of our Registration Officers involved in the field exercise and could easily be traced.

“Each registration machine is operated using an access code tied to a dedicated e-mail assigned to a staff. “There is therefore an audit trail that gives the total number of persons registered by each staff.

“In some case, some of them made as many as 40 attempts or more to register one fake voter.

“As a result, the Commission has so far identified 23 Registration Officers involved in this unethical conduct and disciplinary action has commenced.

“We shall continue to protect the integrity of our voters’ register. It is pivotal to credible elections.

“It is also a national asset and easily the largest database of citizens in Africa and one of the largest in the world”, he said.

The INEC Chairman pointed out that as the 2023 General Election approaches, “we shall continue to work together to counter disinformation and misinformation”.

He added, “We will remain transparent and provide the required information to combat the triple menace as an antidote to fake news.

“Therefore, there will be need for more frequent and intense engagements with you ahead of the election”, he said.