By Ezeocha Nzeh
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it is projecting about 95m possible voters to elect the next leaders in the 2023 general election
his is as the Commission has shut its portals as it ended the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise last Sunday
INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who gave the hint on Thursday, at an election security management training in Abuja by the Nigeria Police Force for the police and other security personnel ahead of the 2023 General Election, said the number was 20 million higher than the combined voter population of the 14 other West African countries in the sub region
He said that the election preparations, deployment and implementation constituted the most extensive mobilisation that could happen in a country, whether in peacetime or wartime.
“In Nigeria, it involves the recruitment and training of staff and managing the logistics for their deployment to 176,846 polling units spread across 8,809 electoral wards, 774 local areas and 37 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).“It also involves a projected voter population of about 95 million for the 2023 general election, which is over 20 million more than the combined voter population of the other 14 countries in West Africa.
“Voters will also elect candidates for 1,491 constituencies (1 presidential constituency, 28 governorship elections, 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal Constituencies and 993 state assembly seats),” Yakubu said.The INEC chairman said that ensuring the safety and security of voters, election personnel and materials, candidates, party agents, observers, the media and transporters was paramount.
