Unic Press UK: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Friday that a committee would be inaugurated to investigate recent underage voting in Kano State. The investigative panel will start work next week, the Premium Times, Nigeria, reported recently.
In its initial reaction to widespread outrage over underage voting as witnessed in Kano State during the local council elections that was held last week, the INEC Director for Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze Uzzi, tried to exonerate the electoral body, saying:
“It should be pointed out here that Local Government elections are exclusively the constitutional responsibility of the respective State Electoral Commissions, who are in no way under the control or supervision of INEC. On our part, INEC assures the public that we are doing all we can to ensure a credible election as was once again demonstrated in the Mashi/Dutsi Federal Constituency election in Katsina State on Saturday.“
Any Nigerian who has yet to attain the age of eighteen years is not qualified to be registered to vote to avoid contravening Section 117(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), which reads:
“Every citizen of Nigeria, who has attained the age of eighteen years residing in Nigeria at the time of the registration of voters for purposes of election to any legislative house, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for that election.”
