The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 177,914 people have recently registered to vote in the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States.
The commission’s latest figures reveal that Edo State has recorded 119,206 new voters, while Ondo State has seen 58,708 new registrants.
The announcement was made in a statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, on Monday.
The Edo governorship election is scheduled for September 21, 2024, while the Ondo election will be held on November 16, 2024.
Olumekun highlighted that these figures reflect only the new registrations and do not include the 8,847 applications for voter transfers into Edo State and 3,132 into Ondo State from other parts of the country.
He said, additionally, transfers within both states have been incorporated into the voter register.
“The figures of the new voters and inter-state transfers are being integrated into the existing register,” the statement read.
INEC also assured that a comprehensive and final voter register for both states will be released in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed concerns over the safety of lives and property in the lead-up to the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.
He made the remarks during a quarterly consultative meeting with media executives on Wednesday.
He, however, said despite no further reports of security breaches for a while, the commission remains vigilant and plans to address the concerns in an upcoming meeting with security agencies.
