Registered voters hits 1.3m in Yobe

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Yobe State on Thursday said it has 1.3 million registered voters in the state, as Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) is ongoing.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Alhaji Ahmadu Makama, gave this update at a news conference on in Damaturu, stressing that the figure was likely to go up as the CVR progressed.

The commissioner also assured that INEC had taken measures to ensure that only eligible persons were registered

He added that the commission had also taken measures to eliminate multiple registration.

Makama disclosed that 159,221 people registered in the CVR from April 2017 to December 2017 but after a cleaning exercise, 90,354 were captured, while others were deleted for double registration.

According to him, 69,052 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are delivered to the state between April and December last year, out of which, 22,474 have been distributed to voters.

He, however, hinted that 33,000 PVCs delivered earlier had not been collected by the owners, saying although some people had left the state, only 173 people approached the commission to request for transfer of their places of voting.

He said the CVR had provided eligible persons the opportunity to register and vote in subsequent elections.

Makama noted that the commission had initiated early preparations toward the 2019 general elections.

He said “we have commenced discussions with National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on logistics for distribution of materials and personnel.”

The commissioner further solicited for support from political parties, security, media and the public for successful and hitch-free elections across the state.