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The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) will, today, release the final
figures for the 2011 voters register with only a marginal difference
from the provisional figures released on February 21.

NEXT learnt that a
review carried out after the exercise to weed out instances of multiple
registration and other irregularities showed less than one percent drop
in the provisional figure of 67, 764, 327 million registered voters in
the country. Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Katsina states have the highest
number of voters in the country, according to the provisional list
released by the commission.

Kayode Idowu, spokesperson to INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega was non-committal about the release yesterday.

“The law requires that the voters’ register be published 30 days to the election, so that is it,” he said.

He also said he
cannot confirm the difference between the figures displayed before and
that expected tomorrow since he is not sure of the source of our
information.

“I am not saying
the disparity will not be less than one per cent, but I cannot
corroborate because I don’t know where you got the figures,” he said.

Meanwhile, the
United States yesterday called for a prompt trial of Nigerians who
registered more than once as voters, saying such a move will prove
INEC’s commitment to credible polls.

A US delegation led by the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights,

Maria Otero and US
Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley, told officials of INEC led by
Mr Jega, at a meeting yesterday, to make true the commission’s promise
to deal boldly with multiple registration.

Mr Jega had spoken
harshly against repeated registration by prospective voters, assuring
more than once that the commission’s registration machines have been
configured to detect offenders who will be prosecuted by INEC.

At a meeting with
members of the House of Representatives during the January
registration, he said only six people had been charged for the offence
after the first two weeks of the exercise, affirming that more
prosecutions will be made.

Ready to help

An official of the
commission who attended the meeting with the American team, who prefers
anonymity told NEXT that the issue of double registration featured
prominently at the meeting held behind closed doors.

“The chairman was
asked how the commission intends to deal with multiple registration and
although his response seemed satisfactory, they (American delegation)
specifically asked him to ensure those found guilty are punished,” the
official said.

Such a move, the
team is said to have advised INEC, will send a message that the
electoral body is not willing to condone fraudulent activities such as
rigging during elections in April.

The American team
also include: USAID Mission Director, Ray Kirkland and USAID Democracy
and Governance Team Leader, Minnie Wright.

Speaking to
journalists after the meeting, Solomon Soyebi, the INEC National
Commissioner in charge of Information, said the team only conveyed
America’s goodwill to INEC and their commendation for the efforts put
in by the electoral body ahead of elections.

But other sources said the US team made broad inquiries on how the
commission is preparing for the elections and how the US government can
be of help.