The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, revealed that Nigeria’s registered voter population surpasses that of all 14 other countries in the West African sub region combined by over 10 million.
As of the 2023 general elections, Nigeria had over 93 million registered voters, compared to the 74 million across the rest of West Africa.
Yakubu, who spoke during a visit by the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and West Africa, Samuela Isopi, stressed the immense scale of Nigeria’s electoral process.
He noted that organising a general election in Nigeria is comparable to conducting elections for the entire West African region and part of Central Africa.
“There are 74 million registered voters in West Africa. In 2023, we had 93 million registered workers in Nigeria, which is almost 10 million more than the other 14 countries put together.
“So each time Nigerians go to the polls, it’s like conducting elections for the whole of West Africa and part of Central Africa,” Yakubu remarked.
He highlighted the substantial voter registration figures during the recent Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
For instance, Nigeria registered about 119,000 voters in Edo State alone, and an additional 55,000 in Ondo State, totaling 177,000 new voters. In contrast, Ghana registered only 70,000 new voters nationwide during a similar exercise.
“In fact, recently, the Electoral Commission in Ghana conducted the equivalent of what we call the Continuous Voter Registration.
“In Ghana, they call it a mock-up to enable citizens who have come of age or those who could not register for one reason or another in the past to register.
“One of the targets of the Electoral Commission in Ghana was to register 70,000 new voters nationwide. But here, in the last Continuous Voter Registration in Edo State alone, we registered 119,000 new voters.
“The additional 55,000 in Ondo State, put together, we registered 177,000. Three times more than what our colleagues in Ghana hoped to register under their own CVR,” he said.
Yakubu reiterated INEC’s commitment to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to further enhance the electoral process and deepen democracy in Nigeria.
Isopi, whose tenure in Nigeria ends on Friday, underscored the importance of supporting democracy in Africa, particularly in the current climate where democratic institutions are facing significant challenges across the region.
She lauded Nigeria as the largest democracy on the African continent and emphasized the European Union’s continued support for the country’s democratic journey.
“All democracies in the world, including our own, face challenges, the journey is not necessarily always in one direction. We all face these challenges. And we have an interest in working together to see how we can strengthen democracy because strengthening democracy in Europe, strengthening democracy in Nigeria means strengthening democracy worldwide.
“We know how important the example that Nigeria can give to other countries here. As I said, I think we have gone a long way. Maybe not everything is perfect, but even elsewhere, many things are not perfect.
“I cannot leave without saying a farewell visit to Mr. Chairman and without saying a farewell visit to INEC which is part, as you know, of the European Union’s main partner here in Nigeria,” Isopi noted.
Over 125,000 PVCs collected in Edo in five days — INEC
Also, ahead of the Edo governorship election, INEC announced on Tuesday that 125,928 Permanent Voters’ Cards have been collected in the state within five days.
According to Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, the PVC collection represents 68.3 per cent of the 184,438 new cards issued during the recent Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
This marks the highest collection rate recorded by INEC since the introduction of CVR for off-cycle governorship elections in 2015.
The collection, which took place across all 192 wards in Edo State between 22 and 26 August 2024, was achieved through a carefully coordinated effort by INEC.
The commission credited the success to its strategic packaging of PVCs by polling units, wards, and LGAs, along with direct communication to voters about the availability of their cards.
“As previously announced by the Commission, Permanent Voters’ Cards from the recent Continuous Voter Registration in Edo State were available for collection at two levels: first, across all 192 wards from Thursday, 22 August to Monday, 26 August 2024; and second, at our 18 LGA offices.
“The Commission is pleased to announce the conclusion of the collection at the ward level. Learning from past experiences, we carefully packaged all the PVCs by polling units, wards, and LGAs. We also produced a collection register, detailing the voters whose cards were ready for collection, and uploaded this information to our website.
“In addition, we contacted voters using the addresses provided at the time of registration. As a result, out of the 184,438 new PVCs available, 125,928 cards were collected by voters, representing 68.3% of the total. This is the highest percentage of PVCs collected in five days since the Commission introduced the CVR ahead of off-cycle governorship elections in 2015.
“A detailed breakdown of the collection by LGAs has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information,” the statement read in part.
INEC announced that the collection process will move to its 18 Local Government Area offices in Edo State, where voters can pick up their PVCs from 28 August to 8 September 2024.
The commission stated that PVCs must be collected in person, as no cards will be issued by proxy.
INEC has made detailed information about the locations of its LGA offices available on its website, encouraging voters who have not yet collected their PVCs to do so as soon as possible.
Olumekun stated, “Meanwhile, the collection will resume at our 18 LGA offices in Edo State from Wednesday, 28 August 2024, and end on Sunday, 8 September 2024.
“We appeal to the remaining voters to pick up their PVCs in person from our LGA offices. The Commission reiterates its policy that no cards will be collected by proxy. Detailed information on the locations of our LGA offices is already available on our website.”
