Reps ask INEC to deregister voters who don't vote in two election cycles

The House of Representatives has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete from its register any voter who does not vote in two election cycles.

The lawmakers also asked the commission to embed a voter verification system in its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) process with a view to identifying and deleting names of fake and dead voters.

The Green Chamber passed the resolution following a motion of urgent national importance moved by a member, Leke Abejide, during the plenary session on Thursday, May 4, 2023.

Abejide, an African Democratic Congress (ADC) lawmaker from Kogi, drew the attention of the parliament to what he described as irregularities observed during the just-concluded 2023 general elections.

While moving his motion, the lawmaker noted that the INEC register contains names of millions of people who are dead and non-existent, including that of his late father.

Abejide also claimed that it was “glaring and crystal clear” during the general elections that the names of people who were “long dead” were still displayed on the INEC register.

The lawmaker said, “Even my own deceased father who passed on long ago still has his name displayed on the board (voter register).

“Apart from dead voters, there are millions of fictitious voters who do not exist anywhere on this planet earth but have their names on INEC registered of voters.

“It is believed that this came to being as a result of double or multiple registrations by Nigerians who had or have the intention of rigging elections but with the advent of the bimodal voters’ accreditation system (BVAS) these faceless individuals can no longer vote anymore.”

But, opposing the motion, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker from Delta State,  Nicholas Ossai, argued that the constitution has granted the citizens the right to be registered to vote and delisting them for not casting their ballots violates the provisions of the law.

He further said the motion was weak on facts and would amount to an infringement on the rights of Nigerians.

“The constitution gives that the right (to be registered) — whether they go to the polls to vote or not. Using that (not voting within two election cycles) as a criterion to delist them is not in line with the constitution of the federal republic.

“Our members are speculating without facts. This motion should have been accompanied by facts,” Ossai said.

However, the motion was eventually adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the presiding officer and Deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Wase, who said it was “harmless” and intended to make INEC improve its system.