The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described as false and misleading reports that it deliberately denied around seven million Nigerians the opportunity to complete their online registration during the last nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
This was disclosed in a press release made available on Monday by Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC.
According to the statement, the online pre-registration of voters, which was introduced by the commission on June 28, 2021 was to ease the registration stress by giving the citizens opportunity to commence their registration online and book appointments to complete the process at INEC designated centres.
The commission stated that, out of the total 10,487,972 citizens that commenced the online pre-registration process, it was only 3,444,378 that were able to complete the pre-registration physically at the designated centres in line with the Commission’s policy.Â
Some 7,043,594 applicants failed to complete their registration before the deadline which had been previously made public.
INEC said no Nigerian was deliberately denied the opportunity to complete the online pre-registration, adding that those accusing the commission of such claims are those who either failed to complete the online application or appear physically at INEC designated centres to complete the process.
INEC however enjoined Nigerians to always endeavour to meet up with deadlines rather than perpetually clamouring for extensions at the last minute.
The statement which was titled “ALLEGED SEVEN MILLION NIGERIANS DENIED THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE THEIR ONLINE PRE-REGISTRATION” reads in full:
“The attention of the Commission has been drawn to media reports that some seven million Nigerians who applied for online pre-registration as voters during the last nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) were denied the opportunity to complete their registration and consequently the collection of their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). This claim is misleading.
“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 their 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.
“A breakdown of the 7,043,594 incomplete online pre-registrations is as follows:
- Â 4,161,775 citizens attempted but either did not complete online pre-registration or abandoned it and went for the physical registration instead.
- Â 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.
“Therefore, it is clear that no Nigerians were deliberately denied the opportunity to complete their online pre-registration.
“We appeal to citizens to always adhere to timelines as against the endless agitation for eleventh-hour extension of set deadlines.”