Reps to INEC: Delete names of voters who do not vote in two election cycles

The  house of representatives has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete the names of voters who failed to cast ballots in two election cycles from the voter register.

The lower legislative chamber also asked the commission to include “voter verification” during continuous voter registration to identify and remove fake, dead or non-existent names.

The parliament passed the resolution during a plenary session on Thursday following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Leke Abejide, an African Democratic Congress (ADC) lawmaker from Kogi.

While moving his motion, Abejide alleged that the INEC register is “full of millions of people who are dead and non-existent”.

The lawmaker claimed that it was “glaring and crystal clear” during the general election that names of people who were “long dead” were still displayed on the voters’ register.

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

“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,” the lawmaker said.

“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.”

While opposing the motion, Nicholas Ossai, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker from Delta, said it was the right of citizens to be registered to vote, noting that delisting them because they did not cast ballot violates provisions of the constitution.

“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,” Ossai said.

He said the motion was not laced with facts, adding that it would infringe on the rights of Nigerians.

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

Sada Soli from Katsina said the motion sought to address the “issues” that may come up during the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo.

Speaking in support of the motion, Idris Wase, the presiding officer, said it was “harmless” and intended to make INEC improve its system.

The motion was voted for when it was put to a voice vote by Wase.

Following that, the lawmakers asked the electoral body to develop a mechanism or software where families who lost their loved ones can report the demise as their names are deleted.

The lawmakers also asked INEC to ensure that the names of “whoever does not vote in two election cycles back to back be deleted from INEC register as non-existing humans”.