Abuja — The absence of a credible voters register is raising convern among opposition politicians who have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of a hidden agenda. However, the electoral body has allayed such fears saying the register will be out in time for the elections.

Speaking to Daily Trust yesterday, national chairman of the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD), Alhaji Gambo Jimeta, said it was a breach of the tenets of democratic practice that the register is not yet available. "Your generation has been shortchanged. You don't even understand how it works. But the fact is that you need the register for any meaningful election," he said. Alhaji Gambo Jimeta, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), said the use of an electronic method for the register does not make sense: "We have said this before that the use of electronic device is wrong. The truth is that INEC is planning to skew the election. The process should involve making the register available for people to crosscheck before the final compilation. This delay is deliberate to cause confusion," he pointed out.

Similarly, the Director of Publicity of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Ismail Sani, said the political parties are already planning their conventions. "Our members are ready for the elections but have no cards. I believe INEC should speak out. Maybe they have problems of funding. They should tell the world what the problems are before they are seen as conniving with government".

Spokesperson for INEC, Andy Ezeani, however allayed such fears stressing that compared to past experiences, INEC has done creditably well. "If you look at the 2003 elections, the voters register came out only a couple of months to the election. We are way ahead in terms of time and there is no need for panic." He explained that the commission is working to ensure that the register will be devoid of too much paper work, noting that the system will rule ou t encumbrances of detailed form filling.

But raising more doubts, Senator Dangana Ndayako, said the voters register is not the issue. "The register is not the point. INEC should be dissolved and reconstituted. That is the only thing that can guarantee faith in the system. The commission as it is now is only conniving with the president". He said that the idea of an electronic system is not suitable in the country. "You don't even have a functional and reliable electricity and you are talking of using electronic means. So if there is no light, what happens to the exercise? It is part of the plans," he said.

Ezeani however said that there is no going back on the use of an electronic machine as it will ensure that everyone is registered. He said that the pilot scheme in the FCT has revealed that the system is preferable, adding that it will directly capture the desired information rather than the use of paper. He said that the exercise will take place in the states and in batch es rather than a nationwide exercise, observing that the method will make the voters register permanent.