The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has begun severe disciplinary actions against 23 officials of the commission involved in unethical conduct during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at third quarterly meeting with political parties for the year 2022 held in Abuja on Wednesday.

Yakubu said the commission deployed thousands of diligent officials for the CVR which started on June 28, until it was suspended on July 31.

“The vast majority of them discharged their duties conscientiously. Unfortunately, a few of them did not. The fictitious registrations were carried out by some of our Registration Officers involved in the field exercise and could easily be traced.

“Each registration machine is operated using an access code tied to a dedicated e-mail assigned to staff. There is therefore an audit trail that gives the total number of persons registered by each official involved in the registration exercise.

“In some cases, some of them made as many as 40 attempts or more to register one fake voter. As a result, the Commission has so far identified 23 registration officers involved in this unethical conduct, and disciplinary action has begun.

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“We shall continue to protect the integrity of our voters’ register. It is pivotal to credible elections. It is also a national asset and easily the largest database of citizens in Africa and one of the largest in the world,” the INEC boss said.

Yakubu further cautioned political parties, candidates, and their supporters to eschew violence during the electioneering campaign for the 2023 general election.

“The statement was necessary against the background of clashes among supporters of different political parties, including allegations of denial of access to public facilities and the destruction of billboards and other outdoor campaign materials by acts of thuggery.

“The campaigns have just begun. As party leaders, you should remain committed to peaceful electioneering.

“We will continue to work together to remove encumbrances to the right of parties and candidates to freely canvass for the support of the electorate.

“The commission will continue to track the campaigns and will not hesitate to initiate the prosecution of violators as provided by law,” he stated.

The INEC chairman added that as the elections draw closer, there would be need for the commission to meet more frequently with leaders of political parties.

Yakubu, however, urged party leaders to make themselves available for discussion, saying it would enable the commission to meet its obligations.

The Star