… Says No Voting By IDPs Outside Nigeria
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Ahead of the 2019 election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged its officers serving in states across the North Central geo-political zone to live above board in tackling the menace of vote buying and selling through effective voters education.
INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kogi State, Prof James Apam gave the charge yesterday in Lokoja at a one- day workshop organised to build the capacity of Voter Education Desk Officers and Assistant Electoral Officer (AEO) Administration drawn from across the states and local government areas that constitute the geopolitical zone.
Apam who expressed worries over the menace of vote buying and selling with its attendant negative impacts on the sanctity of the electoral process, urged the staff to maximise the knowledge they would acquire from the training in addressing the emerging problem.
He also urged the officers to intensify their voter education and enlightenment efforts in their various places of assignments to ensure the electorate and other stakeholders are aware of the danger of vote buying and selling with a view to changing their orientation for the better.
Earlier, Head of Voters Education and Publicity at INEC office in Kogi, Alhaji Ahmed Biambo Bagudu said a total of 135 officers from across the North Central states of Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Kwara, Benue, Plateau and FCT were taking part in the workshop.
Meanwhile, the Commission has debunked earlier reports that Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, located in neighbouring countries of Niger and Mali would be accredited to vote in the 2019 general elections in Nigeria.
The Commission said on Thursday that the country’s Constitution contains no provision that accommodates IDPs located outside the country. Only IDPs within the country would be accredited to vote, it said.
