Nigeria: INEC announces extension of Voters Reg to Monday but in 13 states

Elombah.com

5 February 2011

  

Nigeria: INEC announces extension of Voters Reg to Monday but in 13 states

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,has announced that Nigeria will conduct a “mop-up” voter registration drive Feb. 6-7 to accommodate people who have not registered for the April general elections. The voters Registration have now been extended to Monday, February 7 2011, but in 13 states only. The exercise will be held in places where registration could not begin early “due to communal conflicts, overpopulation, technical or logistical challenges,” the electoral body said today in an e-mailed statement.

A voter registration drive was initially scheduled for the two weeks ended Jan. 29 and was extended by a  week because of difficulties experienced at centers across the West African country. The two-day extension will be offered in places including Bauchi and Borno states in northern Nigeria, where sectarian violence has occurred recently.

Nigeria's electoral commission, headed by a respected academic appointed only months ago, deployed computers to take prints from each finger of every voter during the registration process that began on January 15.

The affected states are Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Kogi, Ogun, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and Zamfara 

INEC declared on Thursday that over 55 million Nigerians have registered to vote in the April 2, 9 and 16 National Assembly, Presidential, Governorship and House of Assembly elections.