The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the National Identification Number (NIN) is not mandatory for voter registration.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
Yakubu said that NIN was only a means of identification for registration as listed in the Electoral Act.
“I want to make this important clarification. NIN is not going to be made mandatory for voter registration.
“This is for a simple reason that we are operating on basis of the law establishing INEC.
“Section 10 of the Electoral Act lists identifications to be presented by prospective registrants for the purpose of voter registration to includes birth certificate, national passport, national identity card,” he said.
The INEC chairman said the list also included driver’s licence or any other document that would prove the identity and age of the applicant.
He said that the NIN card was only one of the means of identification provided for, under section 10 sub-section 2 of the electoral act.
“We cannot single that out and make it mandatory. All the other requirements are requirements of the law and we must apply the law appropriately.
“If you have your national ID card we will register you on presentation of the card, but we will not make it a mandatory means of identification for the exercise.
“Since the law, the electoral act does not make it mandatory, it is only one of the many means of identification required,” Yakubu said.
He also said that INEC had announced June 28 for the resumption of its suspended Continuous Voter Registration across the country, with new technology.
He said that the commission would replace its Direct Data Capture Machine introduced in 2011 for voter registration with a new technology called, INEC Voter Enrolment Device.
The INEC boss explained that with the new innovation, prospective registrants could only apply and go to the nearest registration centre for data capturing to complete the exercise.
Yakubu further said provision had been made for extra registration centres across the country to avoid overcrowding at registration points for those that want to do physical registration.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that 1,000 registration centres had been added to the existing 1,446 for the exercise to reach as many people as possible.
He, however, reminded prospective registrants that it was an offence to register more than once, saying, “citizens should register only once.”
(NAN)
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
