Less than 24 hours after voter registration was suspended, the Independent National Electoral Commission exposed an internet campaign asking Nigerians to sign up for permanent voter cards.
According to the phony website, individual registration online has been authorized by the Federal Government to reduce overcrowding at “NIMC” centers.
Festus Okoye, INEC Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, released a statement on Monday in which he distanced INEC from the fraudulent website.
The statement said that the Commission states unequivocally that the site is not affiliated to the Commission and the link/portal is fake and from a doubtful source.
The Independent National Electoral Commission is the only organization with a constitutional and legal mandate to register voters in Nigerian elections and to update and alter the register as necessary.
The statement added that the Commission is completely responsible for planning, carrying out, and overseeing national elections in the nation; no other person or organization has any involvement in this process.
The general public is strongly warned to stay away from such phony websites and not fall for the tricks of internet con artists.
The nationwide Continuous Voter Registration campaign has come to an end, thus the Commission need not launch another website or gateway to register voters.