From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that a total number of 246 applicants that failed biometric details would be revalidated.
The commission explained that the quality of their Biometric details did not meet the threshold for seamless accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the mandatory requirement for accreditation under Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act 2022.
It further explained that out of the total number of the 246 applicants that will be revalidated, 82 are from Edo State while 164 are from Ondo State.
The electoral umpire, in a state from National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, noted that though the number constituted an insignificant 0.1 per cent of the 269,992 new registrants (pre-ABIS) in the two States, the commission is determined to give every Nigerian the opportunity to exercise their right to vote seamlessly during elections.
“The commission considered among other issues, matters arising from the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Edo and Ondo States, held from 27th May to 9th June 2024.
Following the conclusion of the exercise, the commission displayed the register for one week (12-19 June 2024) in the 395 Wards across the two States for claims and objections by Nigerians as provided in Section 19 of the Electoral Act 2022.
“This manual process was followed by a further clean-up of the register using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) at the end of which the commission discovered that the quality of Biometric details for 246 applicants (82 in Edo State and 164 in Ondo State) did not meet the threshold for seamless accreditation using BVAS which is a mandatory requirement for accreditation under Section 47(2) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“Although the number constitutes 0.1 per cent of the 269,992 new registrants (pre-ABIS) in the two States, the commission is determined to give every Nigerian the opportunity to exercise his/her right to vote seamlessly during elections.
“Consequently, the commission is inviting the new registrants to come forward for validation of their biometric details in the same locations where they registered during the CVR. The exercise will take place from Monday 22nd July to Sunday 28th July 2024,” the statement read.
The commission also explained that; “the distribution of the 82 registrants in Edo State shows that they come from four LGAs. 10 are from Uwessan Ward 1 in Essan Central LGA, 2 in Emu Ward in Essan South LGA, 69 in Ofunama Ward in Ovia South West LGA and one voter in Irhue Ward in Uhunmwonde LGA.
“The 164 voters in Ondo State are from three LGAs. Eleven are from Ofosu/Onisere Ward in Idanre LGA, one voter in Ugbo Ward V in Ilaje LGA while the rest are from Ose LGA (eight in Imoru/Arimogija Ward and 144 in Okeluse Ward).
Before the end of this week, the affected registrants will be contacted using the mobile phones and/or other contact details provided by them during the CVR,” the commission explained.