Nigeria: INEC’s Register Full of Dead People – Governor Abiodun’s Aide

Mr Hazzan said INEC was building on the 1999 register and had not removed the names of dead people.

The Special Adviser to the Ogun State governor on Public Communications, Remmy Hazzan, alleged on Saturday that the voter register used for the conduct of the 2023 general elections was full of dead persons’ names.

Mr Hassan, who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in the state, said this shortly after casting his vote at polling unit six, ward 14, in Omu area of Odogbolu Local Government, Ogun State.

He said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was building on the 1999 register, stressing that the commission should reprocess the entire voter registers and remove the names of dead people.

He further claimed that the refusal of the electoral body to remove names of dead people from the registers largely contributed to the reported voter apathy in many areas.

“In this election and in this particular unit, we have the highest number of turnouts, but if you check in relation to the voter register, you will see that there is voter apathy because some people on the list are dead.

“My father is in that register and he died about eight years ago. He hasn’t been removed from the register. So, INEC should have a working plan on how to get notified when voters have become deceased so that they can take them off effectively.

“I will advocate that at the earliest convenient time, INEC should reprocess the entire voter registration.

“I have always had a problem with our voter register as a nation because it has been a build-up since the 1999 register. In that register, you have many dead people who were yet to be taken off the register.

“Building on that register using it as a measure for voter turnout, I am not comfortable with that.”