Only 93 469,008 Nigerians, according to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), are eligible to cast a ballot in the election scheduled for next
month. In addition, the Commission stated that it is not considering canceling or
delaying the election because of a security danger.
This was said by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, yesterday in Abuja
while providing political parties with information on registered voters.
Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Labour Party (LP), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), among others, were
present at the conference.
He asserts that the elections for governorship and state assemblies set for Saturday,
March 11, 2023, as well as the presidential and National Assembly elections set for
Saturday, February 25, 2023, will go as planned. He insisted that any claim regarding
the postponing or cancellation of the election was not the Commission’s official position.
The head of INEC revealed that 53,264 names on the voter list were eliminated as a
result of Nigerians’ complaints.
Men make up 52.5% of the population, while women make up 47.5%, according to a
breakdown. In addition, young people make up 39.65 percent, followed by middle-aged people (35.7 percent), seniors (18.94 percent), and people over 70 (5.66 percent).
The North West geographical zone maintains its lead with a total of 22,25 million
registered voters, according to the INEC’s final results. The North West zone, which
consists of seven states (Sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, and Jigawa),
had 20.15 million voters as of the 2019 elections. The South West has increased from 16.29 million in 2019 to 17.95 million, which includes Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, and Ondo. With 15.36 million voters, the North Central region—which includes
Nasarawa, Kogi, Benue, Niger, Kwara, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory—lags.
South-South, which includes the states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Bayelsa,
Edo, and Delta, is in fourth place. The North East, which consists of Yobe, Borno,
Taraba, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Gombe, presently has 12.5 million registered voters,
whereas the number of registered voters increased from 12.8 million to 14.4 million. The lowest number was recorded in the South East, which consists of five states (Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Anambra, and Imo). There were 10 million registered voters in the area as of 2019. This number is currently 10.9 million.
According to a breakdown by state, Lagos now has the most residents, up from 6.5
million to seven million. Kano State increased its population from 5.4 million to 5.9
million, maintaining its second-place ranking. Currently, there are 4.3 million registered voters in Kaduna State and 3.5 million in Katsina.
Yakubu continued by stating that the Commission would continue to take all necessary measures to protect the integrity of the votes cast by citizens and deal with infractions, including the arrest and prosecution of anyone attempting to commit illegality at polling places on election day, whether they be vote-buyers or underage voters.
Yakubu claims that the Commission has completed 11 of the 14 operations listed on its agenda after delivering the voter registration to political parties.
He revealed that significant amounts of critical and non-sensitive materials had been spread out across the nation at different locations. The INEC director announced that continuing configuration of the crucial technology in preparation for elections will soon be finished after noting that the final batch of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had been received.
He added that part of the supplies for 17 states in three geopolitical zones had been
delivered and that the Commission had started airlifting other critical materials to states throughout the nation. The Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been printed, sent to states, and are currently being collected by residents, he noted.
Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, National Secretary of the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), stated that the Electoral Act of 2022 would cause the general elections in 2023 to be unique from prior elections. He reassured Nigerians that the Council would fend against anti-democratic elements that were attempting to thwart the innovations introduced by INEC thus far.
