A former Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mike Igini has accused some staff of the electoral body of registering underage voters.
The former INEC REC, who said that those involved in the recent INEC registration process are all staff of the commission which makes it easy to trace them, called for the prosecution of culprits.
“Those who have done this are staff of INEC, I can tell you. If you register as a registration officer, you register with your personal ID (identity card), all of them can be traced,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.
“Anyone who undermines the confidence of public institutions must be brought to book.”
Igini cited a case in Akwa Ibom State where an Information and Communications Technology staff of INEC used his office to register underage voters.
“The beauty of INEC procedures is that they are open to meaningful engagements and discussions. There was a time when we could say these were the handiwork of youth corpers or some people that were engaged but the current procedure and process of registration are all carried out by staff of INEC,” he maintained.
Igini further blamed the underage registration on collapse of values in the society, berating parents who allow their underaged children to register as voters.
He commended the commission for the publication of the voters’ register, saying that it is the first time in history for it to be published on INEC website.
The recent publication and display of the voters register by the INEC raised dust owing to the surprising number of children voters.
INEC’s National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, on Channels Television’s Politics Today, had appealed to Nigerians to assist the electoral body clean up the voters’ register.