The Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is considering making the National Identity Number a precondition for registering voters when the continuous voter registration exercise commences in a few weeks. A national commissioner at INEC disclosed this.
He said the National Identification Number (NIN) would help tackle challenges of underage voting, alien voting and other challenges associated with registration.
The national commissioner, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak, said a final decision would soon be reached.
The INEC official explained that the permanent voter card was only supposed to be in use for a maximum of 10 years, adding that most countries rely on a national database and not the Permanent Voter Card for voting.
He said, The NIN is the ideal. When they want to begin the continuous voter registration, they may consider it because ordinarily, a national identity card is what should be used for voting. When the PVC was introduced, it was meant to be in use for 10 years and the assumption was that within those 10 years, the national identity card would be in use by a majority of Nigerians.
