The main reason the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voter registration was messed up has been unraveled.
INEC-branded batteries of Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines are sold like akara (fried bean cake) in the open market, within the country and neighbouring countries like Benin Republic.
This was disclosed by a delegate to the national conference, Sani Zoro.
Zoro, former Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) President, is a member of national conference sub-committee on political parties and electoral matters.
Voter registration, according to INEC’s original plan, was to be continuous, even outside election periods. But some have made this impossible by making away with batteries in the machines.
The sub-committee had summoned Jega to answer questions on election matters.
Zoro informed Jega that the DDC batteries are being hawked in the open market, and produced a copy he bought in Niger Republic.
He said the seller, a woman, boasted that she could supply him as many as 10,000 copies if he need them.
Jega promised, however, to investigate how the batteries found their way to the open markets.
He explained that INEC disposes items it no longer requires.
