Ini Ekott
March 7, 2011 03:25AM

Barely three weeks before the national elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is faced with a fresh challenge: defending the final figures of registered voters, amid concerns that multiple registrations, which the commission says were dealt with, should have lowered the tally.

Some political parties have already denounced the figures and, last Friday, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said the new register certified by the commission may not only affect the credibility of INEC, but also the credibility of upcoming elections seen as crucial to a long-tainted image of the electoral body.

"We are very uncomfortable with those figures. And until INEC comes up with very rational explanations about those figures, then there is cause for serious concern," Lai Mohammed, the national publicity secretary of the ACN told NEXT.

INEC, last Thursday, released the final results of the 2011 voters registration exercise. But critics are pointing to several inconsistencies. For instance, how the total figure moved from 67,764,334 to 73,528,040 when treated cases of duplication should have scaled down the number.

And if multiple registrations have truly been deducted from the earlier figures, as the commission claims, why should a state that has almost 15,000 cases of duplicities record the same figures for the provisional and final register.

After a long press briefing that stretched into the night of last Thursday, during which the final figures were made public, officials of the commission took inquiries on every concern and provided ready-made, but maybe not very provable answers.

Atthiru Jega, the chairperson of the commission, said the wide margin of difference was partly caused by a "massive under-reporting" of the true figures from the field during the exercise. He said staff may have been under pressure to turn in daily data, and in the process left many names of registrants unreported.

His media aide, Kayode Idowu, said the controversies may also be explained by the conduct of an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) process aimed at detecting multiple registrations.

Some states were tested before the release of the tentative figures, while others were tested after. Depending on the timing, Mr. Idowu told NEXT, a state may not have any variation between its provisional figures and the final one.

"Honestly, I do not have any reason to doubt the figures. We just hope they are valid. However, it is important to probe and understand how they were arrived at and that should not be in bad faith. There must be some justification for that," said Chibuike Mgbeasurike, a member of the Project 2011 Swift Count, a nongovernmental organisation that followed the voter's registration exercise conducted in January.

Early February, the group announced that the figures it realised from its independent assessment of the exercise agreed with the tentative figures given by INEC then, as 59 million.

Questions for INEC

Mr. Mgbeasurike said his position on the latest figures was personal and not that of the organisation.

Dafe Akpedeye, the group's first co-chair, told NEXT a formal position by the group on the new register will be made known later.

In the new register, the total figure now stands at 73,528,040, against the previously announced 67,664,384; with Lagos having the highest number of voters (6,108,069) followed by Kano State (5,270,297). Bayelsa State got the least, at 591,870, followed by Ekiti State with 764,720.

The electoral body said it recorded a total of 870,612 duplicates, with Niger State most culpable with 142,040 while the FCT had the least nationwide, with 953.

The reduction in numbers affected Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Borno, Kano and Oyo States, while the rest received additional numbers instead.

But two cases have stood out. First is Niger State where, in spite of recording the highest duplicates, experienced the widest leap between the old figure and the final one. The state now has 2,175,421 against the initial 721,485.

The second is that of Osun State which, in spite of recording 14,762 cases of multiple registration, has the same figures for the provisional and the final list.

Mr. Jega said during the review he has named a special committee to reconcile the Niger State figures.

Officials, he said, were dispatched from the headquarters to analyse the state's database and all information pointed to the fact that the state was initially "under-reported."

Mr. Idowu explained that the fingerprinting identification software, AFIS, was run on some states before the provisional figures were released. Osun State, he speculated, could have been one of those states where the test was conducted earlier, leaving no room for disparity between its two figures. Yet, the state remains the only one with such peculiarity.

Mr. Mohammed, the ACN spokesman, said the commission's explanation will have to be "very convincing" to retain its credibility ahead of the polls.

"If INEC gives figures even higher than the projections, when we know there were cases of underage and multiple registrations, then we think their explanations must be very convincing," he said.


http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5681700-146/final_voter_figures_arouse_suspicion_.csp

May Jehovah God help Jega in his delicate National assignment-AMEN

I still do not understand how Niger State tripled its # of votes. How is this possible?

eku_bear:

I still do not understand how Niger State tripled its # of votes. How is this possible?

, shit happens, but Niger is the largest in terms of landmass so the geography can be a reason for in-summed list. God help naija

ONE DAY BUSH MEAT WILL CATCH THE HUNTER, 9IJA 9IJA,

xamphara:

, poo happens, but Niger is the largest in terms of landmass so the geography can be a reason for in-summed list. God help naija

How is geography the explanation  Where did the additional 1.4 million votes come from? When were they recorded? Before or after the official deadline? Why the huge discrepancy?

I dunno how Nigerians see strange things happen and just say "God help naija." Yes, God should help naija. . . but Nigerians should help naija by asking some simple questions, too.

To modify a popular saying (from Ben Frankin), "God will help Nigeria if Nigeria first helps itself."

I said it when i saw those figures.it is glairing thy've been tampered with.who are the staffs that under turned in figures.Jega is working for the PDP.now they have added those figures to increase PDP's chances of having a larger vote.

The electorate and its affiliates are a sham.

Nigeria is really a complex country.

Anyone who believes those figure would believe anything. Nigerians shine una eyes oh

The case of Niger was a clear shoddy work from INECS quaters as regards the summation. If you did watch PDP's convention in the state, the Governor B. Aliyu raised the matter and drew the attention of the president. The air has been cleared on the matter.

It was stated that the voting population was made up of 3 zones: a, b, c respectively. The provinsional figure of one zone was carelessly presented by INEC.

But two cases have stood out. First is Niger State where, in spite of recording the highest duplicates, experienced the widest leap between the old figure and the final one. The state now has 2,175,421 against the initial 721,485.

INEC, very, very sad to say, clearly has no scruples trading its credibility for whatever PDP has offered, or is offering them. if not, how on earth can they even [i]attempt [/i]to defend such outrageous discrepancies?

PREPOSTEROUS! 

pdp is at it again, will they ever stop rigging?

pdp is at it again.will they ever stop plans to rig in election?

what will be the outcome of Nigeria if pdp rig again and declare itself winner? definitely people are fed up with pdp.

Yes it

only in nigeria

picture of kano of under age

The figure is simply outrageous but wait the after the election when Jega will declare 90 million legal votes.

preposterous and outrageous list to say the least.I have serious doubt about the capacity of Jega to deliver a credible election come may. He seems overwhelmed by the corrupt hands working with him in INEC.

Jega, Why now?

The Problem i have with my people(Nigerians) is that they make stupid and ridiculous comments.
Think and check facts before making fool of urselfs here. Has anybody in this forum bothered to check facts first
All you have to do is to check the number of people on the released list in your state and see if it matches what was announced.
How hard could that be. Instead sitting in your Ass and talk shit.
Seriously what makes you guys think that they could only be 721 485 voters in niger state
With Nigeria's population in the range of 140million to 150 million or more, 73,528,040 eligible voters is fair enough.
Please don't take sides with selfish politicians who are after their interest and DEFINITELY NOT NIGERIANS.
I LOVE MY COUNTRY, I LOVE NIGERIA w

Lord God, Please open Jega's eyes to see clearly, torch his heart that he may do the right thing, Amen God bless Naija

There is nothing wrong with the current data of Niger State voter's register. What happened initially was that Jega, at a certain time couldn't receive daily reports from Niger State during the registration period. As at then he got only 721,485 records. Now, after data collation from the 25 LGAs and the local AFIS had run, the true total of the registered voters, excluding the duplicates stands at 2,175,421 (though a little more than that). Retrieval of data from the remote areas, and accident-ed DDCs while transporting from remote areas delayed the communication of total data from Niger State to Jega. See, if you're not in the picture, go ahead and criticize Jega, but not concerning Niger State data. Thanks.

@mindworx if what you have just said is true then jega needs to undergo a course on information dissemination.

he should have told nigerians Niger state 721,485 and counting or inconclusive instead of talking as if he has finished counting. so for all i care Jega is lying or you both are liers

g