January 19, 2018

The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says the commission has 74 million voters in its register by the second week of January.

The INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi , made the fact known in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

Osaze-Uzzi quoted Yakubu as making the fact known at the 15th edition of the Daily Trust Dialogue, where he was represented by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr Solomon Soyebi.

The chairman said the figure was expected to reach between 80 and 85 million by 2019 because of the on-going nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

He assured Nigerians that only their votes would determine the 2019 general elections and beyond.

Yakubu noted that there had been a lot of improvement in the electoral process since the current commission came on board.

He said the commission was not unmindful of the enormous responsibility of conducting elections in a democracy.

He said INEC would continue to engage all stakeholders to ensure an all-inclusive process.

The INEC chairman stressed the commission’s resolve to adhere strictly to the timelines provided in the recently released Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 general elections.