The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has accused Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, of registering twice as a voter in Nigeria. In a statement released on social media, the electoral umpire says Yahaya’s action is illegal.
According to the statement, Yahaya had first registered on January 30th 2011 in Wuse, Abuja and then did another registration for the second time on Tuesday May 23rd 2017 in Government House, Lokoja. INEC says no electoral staff was asked to register him. Read the statement below
It has come to the attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, registered as a voter for the second time on Tuesday May 23, 2017 in Government House, Lokoja, the state capital.
His first registration was on 30th January, 2011, in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja. The Governor’s double registration and doing so outside INEC’s designated centres are both illegal. For the on-going Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, INEC has designated a centre in each of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas including FCT’s six Area Councils.
INEC wishes to inform the public that it completely dissociates itself from the Governor’s action. We wish to make it clear that no INEC staff was authorised by the Commission to re-register him or any citizen, or to do so outside our designated CVR centres.
The Commission is taking disciplinary action against the INEC staff involved. As for the State Governor, Section 308 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), precludes INEC from prosecuting him while in office. However, the Commission wishes to state that it has cancelled his second and illegal registration forthwith because our Electoral Law and the Commission’s guidelines make no exception for anyone to register more than once and to register outside the designated centre
