New technology introduced in Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) has enabled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to better fulfill its mandate.
INEC President Professor Mahmood Yakubu said so on Friday when he led a delegation from the National Election Commission of Liberia to the CVR physical registration center at the INEC office at FCT headquarters.
Yakubu said that compared to experiences from previous CVR exercises, the commission was able to eliminate the crowds in CVR centers with the new technology.
“So far everything has been going well, as a good number of pre-registrants have come by appointment to complete their registration.
“A number have also come to register physically as it is a physical registration option, in addition to the online registration completion. “So far you don’t see the kind of crowd we used to see when registering.
“Remember that between 2017 and 2018, we conducted a CVR over a period of 16 months and we learned from the experience of this exercise. This is why we have now brought more technology into the process.
“As you can see the queue is gone and we are able to serve Nigerians better for this reason,” he said.
Yakubu said INEC will continue to do so until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2022, when it will suspend the process to allow the commission to compile the voter register, ahead of the 2023 general election. .
Yakubu said the essence of the tour was to provide field experience for the NEC-Liberia delegation, which was in Nigeria to study the INEC voter registration system.
“So in addition to the briefing in the office yesterday, we thought we could bring it to one of our offices in Abuja, to see how voters are registered,” he said.
Liberia National Election Commission Chairperson Davidetta Lansanah congratulated INEC leaders for sharing Nigeria’s experience with them.
She said that the experience gained during the study tour would help Liberia adopt the CVR in her country.
“There are lessons that have been learned since we’ve been on this tour. We have seen that Nigeria’s electoral commission has invested so much in technology, in terms of the availability of technology for Nigerians.
“It is therefore important for Nigerians to register before the 2023 general elections in the country.
“Another lesson learned is that the earlier you start, the better the process.
“So the continuous recording here in Nigeria, I think, creates the opportunity for an increase in the number of Nigerians taking advantage of the system,” Lansanah said.
She added that the Liberian team were delighted to be in Nigeria for the study trip as there was so much to learn.
“I will say that while we have some similarities, there are some differences in the way we operate. Your country is a big one.
“We know that many Nigerians are optimistic about continuous voter registration which is currently underway, and I can only hope that Nigerians will benefit from this online registration process,” he said. she declared.
Lansanah said online pre-registration would not only help eliminate time wasted during registration, but also help INEC to have accurate data for the elections.
The Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of INEC, Mr. Chidi Nwafor, explained the registration process and the technology deployed to the visiting team, saying that the process had until has now been effective and efficient.
A registrant, Dr Saudiq Abdullahi, who has just completed its registration process at the time of the visit, described the process as fast and efficient.
Abdullahi congratulated INEC on the new procedure, saying: “I first registered online and when I got here I was able to complete my registration in 15 minutes”. (NAN)
