The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has expressed the readiness to make the National Identity Number, NIN as part of preconditions for registering voters when the continuous voters’ registration exercise commences in a few weeks.
According to the Commission, the NIN would help tackle underage voting challenges, alien voting and other challenges associated with registration.
Earlier, INEC had announced that the registration exercise would begin in the first quarter of 2021 as several government organizations have made the NIN a precondition for obtaining documents.
According to Nigeria’s constitution, INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye said the commission has the constitutional right to register eligible voters in the country.
INEC Speaks On NIN
Okoye listed the documents required of eligible voters to include birth certificate, drivers’ licence, National identity card or any other documents that show voters’ age and identity, indicating that such person is a citizen of Nigeria.
He noted that the NIN might be one of those documents a voter could present to a registration officer to be qualified for the voter’s registration.
On why the commission has not been able to conduct the continuous registration exercise for almost two years, the INEC National Commissioner described the activity as very expensive.
He noted that the INEC’s concentration is on expanding access to the polling units adding that there is the need to take the polling units closer to the people.
Okoye opined that the commission was working assiduously to acquiring new data enrolment devises to ensure all eligible voters are registered.
