Plans underway for prison inmates to vote in Nigerian elections – INEC

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday, said the Commission is working towards ensuring that prison inmates vote during elections.

The plan was on the agenda in discussions between INEC and officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

Yakubu said moves to address the voting rights of inmates have commenced.

The move would grant voting rights to thousands of prisoners in the country.

The Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Ndidi Nwakuche Ofori, was at the INEC headquarters on Friday to advocate for the voting rights of inmates.

Yakubu expressed appreciation for the proposal, pointing out that several African nations such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa already allow inmates to vote.

He said, “Working together, we can seize the opportunity of ongoing electoral reform for a clear legal provision that will specifically cover citizens serving time in our correctional facilities.

“Our immediate task is to engage with the National Assembly for clarity and legal backing.”