The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in the neighbouring countries of Niger and Chad, who fled their homes due to insurgency in the North East, will cast their votes in the 2019 Nigerian general elections.
The Chairman of the electoral body, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, who spoke at a stakeholders validation conference on the framework for IDPs voting, put together by the International Foundation for Electoral Support (IFES),, said that the commission has made special provisions for the IDPs to vote in the forthcoming general elections.
He assured of INEC’s commitment to ensuring a hitch free poll in the next 64 days, while calling for support from all stakeholders to ensure the success of the polls.
UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR had said that the Lake Chad Basin region, grappling with a complex humanitarian emergency, has about 2.4 million people that have been uprooted, including over 1.9 million internally displaced (IDPs) in north-eastern Nigeria, over 471,000 IDPs in Cameroon, Chad and Niger and over 228,000 refugees.
A member of the federal House of Representatives, Hon. AdamuKamale, representing Michika/Madagali Federal Constituency of Adamawastate, had deferred with the INEC chairman, stating that 97 percent of IDPs in the state have since returned to their homes.
“I can confirm to you that 97 percent of IDPs in Adamawa have since returned home. The only challenge they have is that of security.Their security needs to be guaranteed in order to enable them vote in the elections.”
