The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced the training of Registration Area Officers in Gombe State to prepare for the in-person phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The training, which kicked off at the Women Development Centre in Gombe, brought together RAOs and Electoral Officers from the 11 local government areas, as well as staff of the Voter Registry/ICT department and members of the State Management team.
Declaring the programme open on Friday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Gombe State, Sa’ad Idris, said the success of any election depends on credible voter registration.
“The credibility of any election begins with a credible registration process. This training is to refresh the knowledge of our RAOs and ensure they are conversant with updated registration software,” Idris said.
He cautioned participants against negligence and unprofessional conduct during the exercise.
“The CVR will not be business as usual. Integrity and professionalism must guide the actions of every staff involved. While your entitlements will be paid in full, any breach of duty—such as assigning responsibilities to unauthorized persons—will attract strict sanctions,” the REC warned.
Idris further directed local government electoral officers to ensure close supervision of the exercise, noting that he would personally monitor the process through field visits and feedback from residents.
In addition, he approved the distribution of public address systems to local government offices to strengthen voter education and awareness campaigns ahead of the registration.
He also tasked the Head of Voter Registry/ICT to ensure proper configuration of INEC’s Voter Enlightenment Devices and to make practical demonstrations a priority during the training sessions.
“We want both our staff and the public to be adequately prepared for this very important exercise,” he added.
