The Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that the general elections will commence in February next year in 176,846 polling units across the country, and eighteen political parties will participate.
INEC, however warned in a statement yesterday about the existence of fake online registration sites and advised members of the public to avoid “such fake sites”.
The statement by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, reads: “Barely 24 hours after the suspension of voter registration, the attention of the INEC has been drawn to an online site urging Nigerians to enrol for “voter card registration”.
According to him, the scammers claimed that the Federal Government had approved “individual voter card (PVC) registration online to avoid the unnecessary crowd in the NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) centres”.
Okoye added: “The commission states unequivocally that the site is not linked to the Commission and the link/portal are spurious and from a dubious source.
“INEC is the only body constitutionally and legally mandated to conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote in any election in Nigeria and to update and revise the register when the need arises.
“The commission is solely responsible for organising, undertaking and supervising national elections in the country and does not share this responsibility with anybody or organisation.
“Members of the public are strongly advised not to succumb to the antics of online scammers and should avoid such fake sites.
Finally, Okoye noted that “the commission has concluded the Continuous Voter Registration exercise nationwide and does not need to open an additional site or portal for the purposes of registration of voters.”
