ABUJA, Nigeria – The House of Representatives in Nigeria has called upon the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove fictitious and deceased persons’ names from the contemporary registered voters list.
The parliament also urged INEC to carry out public enlightenment campaigns to inform Nigerians about the issues plaguing the voters register, which include dead and fictitious names.
In an effort to further streamline the voting process, the House suggested that INEC develop a software mechanism to facilitate the removal of deceased individuals from the register.
This would allow family members to report the passing of a loved one and provide their Permanent Voters Card, PVC, number for deletion from the INEC register, polling unit, and Ward.
Additionally, the House recommended that voters who fail to participate in two consecutive election cycles be removed from the INEC register as non-existing persons.
The resolution followed a motion titled “Urgent Need for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, To Clean Up Its System of Dead and Fictitious Registered Voters,” presented by Hon. Leke Abejide at the plenary session on Thursday, May 4, 2023.
During his presentation, Hon. Abejide revealed that INEC’s voter register contained millions of deceased and non-existent persons, including his late father.
He stated, “It was glaring in the last general election as names of the dead were still displayed in the voters’ register, including my deceased father who died long ago.”
Hon. Abejide also acknowledged the issue of multiple registrations by Nigerians seeking to rig elections, which has led to millions of fictitious, non-existent voters being registered.
He also that the recent implementation of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, has made it increasingly difficult for such individuals to cast a vote.
Upon adopting the motion, the House directed its Committee on Electoral Matters to ensure that INEC complies with the resolution.
