By Joy Odor
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Gombe State has commenced the training of Registration Area Officers (RAOs) ahead of the official take-off of in-person voter registration across the State and Local Government Area (LGA) offices.
The training, held at the Hajiya Amina Inuwa Gombe Women Development Centre, brought together RAOs, Electoral Officers from all 11 LGAs, staff of the Voter Registry/ICT unit, and the State Management team.
Declaring the session open, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Sa’ad Umar Idris, emphasized that the integrity of the 2025/26 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) would hinge on professionalism, strict adherence to ethical standards, and the use of updated digital tools.
“The credibility of any election begins with a credible registration process” Dr. Idris stressed.
He warned that the exercise would not be business as usual while assuring staff of their full entitlements but cautioned that any dereliction of duty, such as assigning roles to unauthorized persons, would attract sanctions.
Dr. Idris also directed Electoral Officers to ensure diligent supervision of the exercise, noting that he would personally embark on field visits to monitor compliance and gather public feedback.
To boost voter education, the REC approved the release of public address systems to all LGA offices and mandated the VR/ICT team to fully configure the INEC Voter Enlightenment Device (IVED) for hands-on simulation during the training.
With the CVR countdown underway, the Gombe REC reiterated INEC’s commitment to delivering a transparent, inclusive, and credible electoral process.
