TheCable

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the National Population Commission (NPC) to periodically provide data on deceased Nigerians to ensure that the register of voters is up to date.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, made the request on Friday, when he received Isa Kwarra, chairman of the NPC, who paid him a courtesy visit at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.

Yakubu said the electoral commission needs the data to remove names of dead persons from the voter register.

“At present, technology cannot help us to identify and remove dead persons from the voter register,” the INEC chairman said.

“Therefore, I wish to once more appeal to the chairman of the NPC, in your capacity as the registrar of births and deaths in Nigeria, to periodically avail us of the data of deceased Nigerians.

“This is important so that we can use the official information from your commission to further clean up the voter register.

“Perhaps, you may wish to start by availing us with the list of prominent Nigerians who have passed on, civil and public servants compiled from the official records of government ministries, departments and agencies and other Nigerians from hospital and funeral records across the country.”

Yakubu said providing the data may be a big task, but INEC is confident that NPC has the capacity to do so.