The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says Kaduna State had the highest number of online registrants from the north in the ongoing online voters’ registration.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Asma’u Maikudi, said the state, with 486,589 registrants, also placed third in the region in the number of those who completed their registration physically.

“As of Monday, May 16, Kaduna State recorded the highest number of registrants online in the northern part of Nigeria and third largest in physical registration,’’ she said.

Mrs Maikudi attributed the stride to the combined efforts of stakeholders including religious leaders, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations and the media.

However, she noted that while the feat was commendable, INEC discovered that about 37.4 per cent of the new registration in Kaduna State was invalid.

She said INEC had created additional 2,910 polling units in the state to ease the election process and make it convenient for voters to cast their votes.

She said Kaduna State now had 8,012 polling units, as against the initial 5,102 units, which could not cater to the increased number of registered voters.

Mrs Maikudi also told the meeting that the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) would replace the Smart Card Reader at the 2023 general elections to eliminate the possibility of voting by identity theft.

(NAN)