“We get death threats” – INEC boss gives excuse for registration of underage voters

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has further reacted to concerns over underage voting menace in some parts of the country.

The electoral commission’s Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi admitted on a television programme that some underage voters are actually allowed to register.

Osazze-Uzzi cited death threats by some members of the community as the reason such is allowed to happen.

According to him, when officials refused to register underage persons, their lives were threatened by members of the community and they eventually caved in.

Osazze-Uzzi added that parents usually force registration officers to register their underage children.

The INEC director said, “I agree that it is the responsibility of the registration officer to do that (refuse to register underage persons), but there are times that circumstances are such that where there is present and clear danger that he risks being assaulted or being killed, I think it will be unreasonable to expect him not to succumb to the pressure. But we encourage them to report immediately they get out of that dangerous zone.”

He also said INEC had received reports from some members of the National Youth Service Corps taking part in the exercise.

While he says the commission is concerned about curbing the occurrence, he added that the commission doesn’t “expect people to risk their lives for what is essentially a simple patriotic service.”

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Osaze-Uzzi, however, said mechanisms had been put in place such that after an underage person is registered, he could be removed from the register.

“But if they get away with that (getting registered) and the report is not taken, the second opportunity is when the register is displayed. The best opportunity is where higher officials physically look at each register as much as they can and those who are clearly not qualified are removed,” he said.

INEC has assured Nigerians of a free and fair election in 2019.