Double Registration by Kogi Governor Unresolved, Says INEC

Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kogi State has stated that the issue of double registration by Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, remains unresolved.

This was made known yesterday by the Resident Electoral Commission (REC) of INEC in the state, Professor James Apam, during an interactive session with journalists in the state.

He noted that despite the fact the governor was alleged to have registered twice, it doesn’t mean that he should not exercise his right by collecting the temporary transfer voter’s card pending when the issue is addressed.
According to Apam, “We issued the transfer voter’s card to the governor based on legal advice. The allegation against Bello is still hanging and at the appropriate time, INEC will do the needful.

“He registered twice and does not take away his right to request for transfer of the existing registered voter’s card from Abuja to Okene, and that is why we issued him the temporary transferred voter’s card.

“His application was received and subjected to legal scrutiny and we concluded that the allegation does not take away his right.”

The REC said the issuance of the card to the governor was in line with its rules and regulations. Accordingly, Apam noted that the commission under the continuous voter’s registration ongoing in Kogi State has registered a total number of 176, 886 persons as at February 2018, while 7,169 persons within the period have successfully transferred their PVC.

He added that a total of 9,400 cards have been replaced with the distribution of old PVC uncollected before 2015 general election said to have attained 90 percent of collection.

Apam called on those who were yet to collect their PVCs before the 2015 elections to ensure that they collect them, as 202,289 PVCs were still in INEC’s custody in the state.

The commission said following various complaints, it has drawn up a timetable to cover areas not yet reached by the ongoing voters registration, blamed the slow pace on logistics, security among other reasons.