Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mutiu Agboke, says 42.3 per cent of the registrations done in the first and second quarters of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Oyo State are invalid.

Mr Agboke stated this at Eruwa in Ibarapa East Local Government Area of the state during a stakeholders’ meeting on the fourth quarter of CVR. 

The meeting was for stakeholders in the Ibadan/Ibarapa zone of the state. 

Mr Agboke said that the use of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) had made it possible to detect the invalid registrations.

“The outcome of the use of ABIS for both the first and second quarters of the CVR from June to December 2021 indicated that there were 45,187 validly-printed PVCs out of the 78,000 registered voters.

“So, a total of 32,813, representing 42.3 per cent of the total registrations, were invalid and would not be included in the commission’s register,” he said. 

On reasons for the invalid registrations, the REC said that some registrants were not aware that they did not need to register again if they had done so before.

“Second, they believe that our systems will not detect the infractions, hence they went to register again. 

“Third, there were some registrants whose data were incomplete and did not meet our rules for inclusion in our register.

“Fourth, some staffers might be complicit in facilitating the infractions, notwithstanding the stern warnings against such unwholesome practice,” he said.

Mr Agboke added that the same principle that detected the invalid registrations would also be applied for both the third and fourth quarters of the CVR, before the commencement of the 2023 general election. 

He told stakeholders that INEC had introduced the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) into the electoral process.

“BVAS has now replaced Smart Card Reader and it does three major things on election day. 

“It is for verification of eligible voters; electronic authentication of voters and loading of individual polling units’ results into INEC result viewing portal, called IReV,” he said.

The REC submitted that the use of BVAS would eventually guarantee credibility of voter accreditation by preventing multiple voting or use of stolen PVCs to vote.

Speaking on the huge number of uncollected PVCs in the state, the INEC boss said that a total of 753,757 PVCs were still in the custody of the commission.

He said that the commission would not rest on its oars to ensure that the number got reduced drastically before the forthcoming general elections.

Mr Agboke called on the council chairmen in the 14 local government areas in Ibadan/Ibarapa zone to support the commission’s activities, particularly issues relating to PVCs’ collection. 

He also enjoined the traditional rulers in the zone to prevail on their subjects to collect their PVCs, preparatory to the 2023 election.

On security issues, Mr Agboke implored the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Ibarapa Area Command, Kayode Makinde, to ensure that the police were effective in order to ensure a violence-free election. 

He urged political parties and other stakeholders to encourage their members to participate in the electoral process, saying that the growth of democracy in Nigeria should be of utmost concern to every citizen.

Speaking on behalf of the security agencies, Mr Makinde assured INEC that security operatives would cooperate with the commission so that the 2023 general elections would be violence-free.

The Olu of Igboora, Oba Jimoh Olajide, urged the electorate to ensure that they elected responsible and credible people into offices.

Mr Olajide promised to assist in sensitising his subjects on the need to participate actively in the nation’s electoral process.

Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the state, Kayode Odedokun, said that the agency would continue to partner with INEC in its efforts at sensitising the general public on the importance of obtaining voter cards.

Mr Odedokun, who was represented by Ibrahim Okunlola, said that the agency would also prioritise its sensitisation on how voided votes could be reduced during election. 

He pledged to prioritise education of voters on how to handle ballot paper while thumb printing. 

In his remarks, the INEC Administrative Secretary, Abiodun Amosun, urged all the stakeholders to support the commission toward achieving success during the 2023 general elections.

Mr Amosun promised that the commission would conduct free, fair, credible and transparent elections, come 2023. 

(NAN)