The Independent National National Electoral Commission has announced that it would invite new registrants in the Continuous Voter Registration in Edo and Ondo States for validation.
The CVR exercise was held in the two states between May 27 and June 9, 2024, after which INEC displayed the register for one week across the 395 wards in Edo and Ondo States.
In a statement on Thursday, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, stated that following a cleanup using the Automated Biometric Identification System, 82 registrants in Edo State and 164 in Ondo state did not meet the threshold for seamless accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which is a mandatory requirement for accreditation under Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act 2022.
The statement further added that the number constitutes 0.1% of the 269,992 new registrants (pre-ABIS) in the two States. The commission said it is determined to give every Nigerian the opportunity to exercise his/her right to vote seamlessly during elections.
“Consequently, the Commission is inviting the new registrants to come forward for validation of their biometric details in the same locations where they registered during the CVR. The exercise will take place from Monday 22nd July to Sunday 28th July 2024.”
INEC noted that the distribution of the 82 registrants in Edo State shows that they come from four LGAs. Ten are from Uwessan Ward 1 in Essan Central LGA, 2 in Emu Ward in Essan South LGA, 69 in Ofunama Ward in Ovia South West LGA and one voter in Irhue Ward in Uhunmwonde LGA.
The Statement added that the 164 voters in Ondo State are from three LGAs. Eleven are from Ofosu/Onisere Ward in Idanre LGA, one voter in Ugbo Ward V in Ilaje LGA while the rest are from Ose LGA (eight in Imoru/Arimogija Ward and 144 in Okeluse Ward). Noting that at the end of this week, the affected registrants will be contacted using the mobile phones and/or other contact details provided by them during the CVR.
“Meanwhile, a comprehensive list, including their Polling Units, has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for immediate action by the affected registrants and public information.
“At the end of the exercise next week, the Commission will provide the final detailed breakdown of the new registrants in the two States, followed by the timetable for the collection of PVCs.”, the statement concluded.
