November 3 , 2017

Women Arise for Change Initiative, a civil society organisation, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to get correct data of inmates before allowing them to vote in elections.

INEC had on Oct. 24 said that it was making arrangements with the Nigeria Prisons Service to ensure that prisoners would vote in the 2019 general elections.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed the plan at a dialogue with civil society organisations.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, President of the organisation, said that the credibility of the elections would be doubtful without accurate data about prisoners.

Okei-Odumakin said: “While it is a noble initiative, I am of the opinion that INEC must first demand for accurate prisoners’ population as it makes preparations for their participation in elections.

“Without doing that, it may be difficult, considering that the prisons are not public places; monitoring the credibility of elections in such places may be a difficult task.’’

She advised the commission to support advocacies for prison decongestion and inmates’ welfare.

On Abdulrasheed Maina, the sacked Chairman of the defunct Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Okei-Odumakin, said that his sudden return to the country and re-absorption into the civil service was a major setback to anti-corruption campaign.

She commended President Muhammadu Buhari for taking drastic steps to `correct the very sad development’.

The social crusader said that Nigerians deserved to know all the circumstances surrounding Maina’s return to the country.

She urged thorough investigation and prosecution of the alleged corrupt act.

“We must encourage and support the EFCC in its quest to arrest and prosecute Maina and ensure that justice is adequately served,’’ Okei-Odumakin said.