•Say 18.1m 2022 voters’ registrations destroyed, millions of migrants, minors and ghost names still flooding Nigeria’s Voters’ Register

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) and the International College for Democracy and Human Rights Scholars have accused Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, of lying when he announced recently in the United States of America that “INEC has deleted 2.7m double registrations from the 2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR) exercise”.

The pro-democracy crusaders noted that “a recent graphic research work, numbering 23 pages, put together by Nigeria’s Intersociety, locally and globally respected for in-depth research and investigation on democracy and human rights matters; had exposed a litany of illegalities perpetrated by Nigeria’s INEC ahead of the country’s crucial Presidential Election fixed for 25th Feb 2023. The INEC’s illegalities include identification of the 50 major poll rigging plots and the 12 major elections’ rigging Nigerian States to watch in the 2023 Presidential Poll.”

The groups in a statement issued in Enugu, South-East Nigeria, on Thursday, October 13, 2022, also drew attention to their letters dated 29th and 30th September and 5th October 2022 “written to US Vice President, the US Secretary of State, the US Assistant Secretary of State and head of the Bureau of African Affairs and the sixteen key US Lawmakers, strongly urging them to monitor Nigeria’s INEC and revisit their funding supports and other international engagements with the Commission and at all times tie them to ‘credible electoral process accountability’.”

“It is our observation that since then, Nigeria’s INEC and its Chairman have become restlessly engaged in globe-trotting and damaged image repair in addition to dishing out white lies before the international critical democracy partners.”

Continuing, the statement said: “INEC had in its latest lies told at an event put together by the respected National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on Tuesday, 11th October 2022 in the United States disputably disclosed that “it has deleted 2.7m double registrations from the recent (July 2021/July 2022) Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise”.

“Contrary to the above lies told, a recent independent graphic research evidence has exposed and disclosed that Nigeria’s INEC has deliberately, discriminatorily and ethno-religiously destroyed no fewer than 18.1m of over 27.4m voters registered in 2022 voters’ registration and validated only 9.3m others that are most likely represented disproportionately along Nigeria’s ethnic and religious lines. Nowhere was it also mentioned where the INEC Chair theoretically or graphically disclosed to his hosts in USA the number of migrants, minor and ghost names flooding the Nigeria’s National Register of Voters including who brought them into the Voters’ Register, how they were smuggled into the Voters’ Register and whether such migrants, minors and ghost names, independently estimated at 15m by Intersociety have been deleted or not from the Voters’ Register.

“We had also stated in our Joint-Letter to respected Presidents of National Endowment for Democracy (NED), National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) that the highly disputable voters’ data account given by Nigeria’s INEC Chairman is nothing short of a case of a typewriter teaching an ICT expert on the functionalities of ICT including its biometric application. That is to say that if the Nigeria’s INEC Chair is truly ICT literate, he would not have made such mockery of himself and the Commission at such technologically advanced international capital. This is more so when the functions of ICT biometric technology are so elementary that they do not warrant special and international referencing as “INEC’s major policy achievement” ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Poll. The respected Presidents of NED, NDI and IRI were specifically told in clear terms that Nigeria’s INEC has been hiding or using “double/multiple registrations” as a cover to disenfranchise tens of millions of truly Nigerian citizens of voting age including destruction of 18.1m of the 27.4m voters’ registrations or registrants recorded in the 2022 Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise. These, the Commission has been perpetrating and perpetuating while turning total blind eyes on millions of migrants, minors and ghost names flooding the Voters’ Register as “registered voters in Nigeria” to “vote” in the 2023 Presidential Poll.

“The above were contained in our Joint-Letter, dated 12th Oct 2022 and addressed to the President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, USA, Damon M. Wilson, the President of the International Republican Institute, USA, Daniel Twining, PhD and the President of the International Democratic Institute, USA, Ambassador Derek Mitchell. The critical highlights of the above also formed part of our latest international radio interview with the Voice of America (VOA), granted by our Chief Strategist, Emeka Umeagbalasi who is the Board Chair of Intersociety. We had in our Joint-Letter emphasized the need for the respected leaders of NED, NDI and IRI and other international critical partners supporting Nigeria’s democratic process to ensure that Nigeria holds crisis or turbulence free, participatory, inclusive, secure and credible General Elections especially the Presidential Poll in 2023 and that such Elections cannot take place without maximum enfranchisement through voters’ registration and issuance of Permanent Voters’ Cards, of citizens of voting age without discrimination as to their religion, ethnicity and class; all line with the common mission of NED, NDI and IRI to “advance democracy and freedom around the world including motivating people to engage in the political process and guide politicians and government officials to be responsive to citizens”.

“The respected Presidents of NED, NDI and IRI were also called upon to thoroughly study the attached Special Investigative Report by Intersociety so as to be grounded with the facts of the matter and assert sufficient international pressure on Nigeria’s INEC to mandatorily issue PVCs to over 32m registered Nigerian voters, reopen its registration centers, enfranchise and issue PVCs to 7m-11m disenfranchised successful online registrants and wipe out all traces of registered millions of minors, illegal aliens and ghost names from the Voters’ Register. The 32m registered voters denied permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) include not less than 20m denied PVCs since 2019 and 12m new registrants denied PVCs since 31st July 2022. The respected leaders of NED, NDI and IRI were further called upon to tie their engagements with Nigeria’s INEC especially funding supports and exchange programs to ‘credible electoral process accountability’.

“Among the signatories to Our Joint-Letter to respected leaders of NED, NDI and IRI in USA who are also part of this statement are the leading USA Democracy Campaigner, John Gregg, a leading Swiss Rights and Democracy Campaigner, Bernhard Wanner, a Renowned Diplomat and Former Nigerian Envoy to South Africa, Ambassador Uche-Ajulu Okeke, Chairman of World Igbo Congress, USA, Prof Anthony Ejiofor, a Renowned Physicist and Board Chair of Ekwenche Research Institute, USA, Prof Justin Akujieze, a Renowned Prof of Criminology and Counter-Terrorism Expert, Prof Paul Obianaso, a University Don, Prof Jerry Chidozie Chukwuokolo, a Renowned Human Rights Campaigner and Former Government Commissioner in Ebonyi State, Chief Abia Onyeike, a leading Computer Security Engineer, Ikenweoke Nwandu, a leading Researcher/Investigator and Board Chair of Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, South-East Chair of the Civil Liberties Organization, Comrade Aloysius Emeka Attah, a frontline Legal Practitioner and Executive Director of Int’l Human Rights and Equity Defense Foundation, Justus Uche Ijeoma Esquire, an iconic New Media Expert, Chief Ositadinma Agu and two Renowned Doctors of Law and respected Feminists, Dr. Adaora Nwamaka Iguh and Dr Mrs. Ngozi-Chuma Umeh, among others.”

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