Voter registration-Nigeria - Barely two weeks to the general election, the controversy trailing the voters registration is still raging especially in Niger State where the leaders have despatched a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega challenging the voters' figure released by the Commission for the state. In a letter ref. NF/BOT /IG.001 dated March 11, 2011 and signed by the President of Nupe Foundation, Y. Y. Sani and titled 'Both The Provisional and the Certified 2011 voters registration figures released by INEC are at variance with Demograhpic facts and realities of Niger State'. "Nupe Foundation rejects in its entirety, both the provisional and the certified 2011 voters registration figures for Niger state recently released by INEC for 2011 general elections in the country."

In the letter made available to THISDAY they claimed that Prof Jega tried to criminalise the Niger people when he said that more double registration was recorded in Niger state.

"Nupe Foundation hereby expresses its profound dismay, over the attempt by INEC to criminalise the good people of Niger state by wrongly portraying Nigerlites as the most lawless and fraudulent people in Nigeria for returning, according to INEC, the highest number of double registration in the last INEC voter registration exercise in Nigeria."

According to the letter INEC first came out with the 2011 voter's registration exercise provisional figure of 63 Million eligible voters for the entire country. Inexplicably, Niger state was allocated a strange figure of 721,478 for all the three senatorial districts in the state notwithstanding that last voters' registration figure released by Professor Jega's predecessor in 2003 voters registration exercise was 1,607,730 eligible voters in Niger state. "Unless the state was hit by calamities such as large earth quake, social strife, religious or inter ethnic crisis, or an epidemic, it is not conceivable that under normal circumstances as currently prevailing in Niger state, the population of eligible voters in the

state could drastically decrease by as high as 886,252 people or 55% in just eight years after the previous voters registration exercise in 2003. THISDAY recall that INEC had corrected the figure to over two million voters but Engr. Sani said that "Unless INEC is up to some heinous

scheme against Niger state, INEC should accept the actual figure of 2,448,980 forwarded by Niger state INEC office to INEC Headquarters in Abuja as provisional figure for the state. Posting another fictitious figure of 2,317,461 as the certified figure for Niger state thereby short changing the state of 131,519 bona fide voters is not acceptable.

Nupe Foundation is apprehensive and uncomfortable with INEC, because following a very strong protest by the Niger state government, INEC released the day by day registration figures from all over the federation including Niger state to buttress the authenticity of the fraudulent figure of 721,478 registered voters for Niger state and INEC is still maintaining the figure in its publications.

We demand that the fictitious figure of 721,478 be completely obliterated from INEC records as far as Niger state is concerned and an apology be offered by INEC to the good people of Niger state for attempting to criminalize our people without any justification.

THISDAY had exclusively reported the first questionable figure and wondered at the wide margin from the previous exercise but the Commission reacted by launching investigation resulting in the correction but not as reportedly collated by the stakeholders that conducted the registration exercise in the state.

Ike Okonta

This Day/15/03/2011