TheCable

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will soon release the full report of its investigation into alleged underage voting in the Kano election report.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, disclosed this during an interaction with political editors of media organisations on Saturday in Lagos.

The commission had earlier said its voter register was not used by the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) for the February local government poll.

Yakubu, however, said based on the demand by some stakeholders, the commission will release the report submitted by the committee set up to investigate the allegations.

“INEC committee conducted investigation, submitted its report and we addressed the press on the matter that there was no connection between INEC voter register and the incidence of underage voting in Kano,” he said.

“In fact in many voting units they did not even use voter register to accredit anyone.

“Having said so, there is a demand that we should release the report of our investigation. I assure you we will soon release the full report of that investigation.”

Yakubu, speaking on the clean-up of the voter register, said the commission will continue to strengthen the register.

He said while the commission had been working on the clean-up of the register, no single Nigerian had officially complained to INEC about the inclusion of ineligible persons.

Yakubu said as part of measures to clean up the register, the commission pasted the details of new registrants nationwide as well as given each registered political party a copy of the register for claims and objections.

He said: “As we speak the commission has not officially received any complain of the registration of ineligible persons.”

“Only last week in Ekiti we made it available to 35 political parties contesting in the state elections, we have not also receive a single complaint.”

Yakubu said when the Kano investigation was conducted, the commission agreed to give the register to civil society organisations and the media.

He said it would be done without infringing on the right of Nigerians to apply for the register once they paid to the commission the relevant fee stipulated by the law.