By David Onimisi Lawani
The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has said that the commission will not be deterred by attacks visited on its infrastructures noting that the intention of the attackers was to stop it from conducting elections.

Yakubu made these remarks in a press conference to demonstrated new methods of registering voters who have attained 18 years which was held in the commission headquarters in Abuja.

He said the commission is committed to ensuring the continuous voter registration, CVR, sees the light of the day as the earlier date of June 28 of its take off remain sacrosanct. He stated that after series of meeting with stakeholders, security agencies, it has further resolved to place a high premium on the lives of registrants and staff of the commission in view of the security challenges faced by it.

He said: ” As you are aware, the Commission has had the sad experience of recent attacks on our offices across the country. In most cases, these offices have been burnt or vandalized. Clearly, the aim of the attackers was to undermine the Commission’s capacity to organize elections and other electoral activities, including the CVR. Luckily, only buildings, equipment, and materials have been destroyed. Although the attacks have subsided, the Commission is still deeply worried by the threat that they could pose to registrants and our staff during the CVR.

“As a result of this profound concern, the Commission has made representations to government and had several discussions with stakeholders, including security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), political parties, civil society organizations, and the media. During these consultations, we shared our plans, hopes, and concerns regarding the security threat that we currently face.

“From the consultations, the stakeholders reached a consensus that it is important for the Commission to place a high premium on securing the lives of registrants and staff, as well as the protection of the expensive registration equipment to be deployed for the exercise. Consequently, they advised that the Commission should adopt a graduated approach to the CVR exercise by starting online. After appraising the situation, the exercise can then proceed physically at State and LGA offices before finally deploying to all the 2,673 centers nationwide”, he said.

He stressed that based on this advice, the Commission has decided to adopt a roll-out and roll-back approach to the exercise such that the registration centers will not only be accessible but safe and secure.

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According to him: ” In our determination to serve Nigerians better during the CVR, and in response to repeated calls by stakeholders, the Commission is introducing a dedicated portal for online registration. The idea is for intending registrants to commence the process online by filling the forms and uploading their pictures and required documents, and then make an appointment on the web portal for a date and time to visit an INEC State or Local Government Area (LGA) office to give their fingerprints and complete the registration.

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“In addition, those who are already registered as voters can carry out all the other activities such as transfers, correction of personal details, and replacement of damaged or defaced Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) online. We hope that through this portal, we shall reduce overcrowding at our registration centers, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, make the registration processes generally easier, thereby giving Nigerians a pleasant electoral experience.

“The portal will go live in the early hours of Monday 28th June 2021. However, I must quickly reiterate that online registration is a public service and therefore free of charge. There is no INEC-approved cybercafe, no online registration center, and no scratch card to be purchased for the exercise. All you need is a device, including your mobile phone, that can connect to the internet. Citizens can complete the online pre-registration anywhere and at any time they choose. Just follow the simple but detailed step-by-step procedure on the portal and contact the INEC Help Desk where necessary. The details are on our website”, he narrated.