——-Says Nigeria’s electoral process still struggles with data inconsistencies, duplicate voter records that hinder credibility.
A Public Affairs Analyst and Secretary, Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter, Dr. Chikezie Obasi, made this known while speaking on a topic “A Review of Anambra Governorship Election,” on the programme, Beyond the Headlines on Freedom Square TV, anchored by Uchenna Cyril Anioke.
Dr. Obasi, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to embrace the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) in future elections as a means to promote transparency and eliminate irregularities arising from unclean voter data.
According to him, “ the data the INEC is using is an unclean. What do I mean by an unclean data . My father who died four years ago and my mother who died two years ago is still among the voters that are alive in the voters register. So what we is a cumulative voter register that have not had the way of removing those who are no longer voting in our environment. So you might see that each year, if we continue utilizing this figure, the cumulative figure, the number continues to drop. But in the real sense, the big question we will be asking is, over the past few years , how many voters have being returning the Anambra State Governor’s to Anambra State Government House? Are they improving, static or are they decreasing? If you really look at voter registration turnout in Anambra State, INEC was distributing the voters card even to that last minute, the youth turnout during the election is relatively not encouraging. Until we clean that our data, I don’t think one will be using it to measure the level of voter turnout in elections.”
Dr. Obasi emphasized that integrating the NIN system into INEC’s database would help sanitize voter registration, curb multiple registrations, and strengthen public confidence in election outcomes.
“INEC should move away from registering voters to utilizing NIN. They should integrate NIN into their platform. People can easily come into a place and vote without using voters card. The voters card is almost an impediment to the younger ones,” he stated.
He noted that while INEC has made commendable progress with innovations like the BVAS and improved logistics management, the next critical step is data harmonization through NIN.
He therefore urged the electoral body to collaborate with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other relevant agencies to ensure seamless integration before the next general elections, insisting that the integrity of any democracy rests on the credibility of its data.