The Kano State Government on Monday insisted that the trending video clip of underage voters supposedly in the just concluded Kano Local Government elections was actually shot on the March 30, 2015 election organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Malam Muhammad Garba, made the clarification while addressing the members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) at its two-day National Conference in the northern state.
According to him, “the recent Council poll in Kano was adjudged one of the freest in the history of council polls in Nigeria by both local and international observers. I make bold to say that the controversial video belongs to INEC.”
“The video that went viral in social media contained scenes where INEC card readers were deployed; and nothing of such was used in the last council poll in Kano—we did not use card readers, and there was no event of under-age voting during the 10 February Council poll in Kano state.”
The immediate-past President of NUJ, however, expressed happiness that INEC has decided to investigate the matter, adding that “the outcome of the investigation would exonerate the Kano electoral body.”
The Commissioner insisted that Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) followed due process and was guided by law during the election.
Speaking on the theme of the Conference, Garba noted that the recent spread of hate speech, especially on social media, remains a serious threat to democracy and national unity.
He said there was an urgent need to tackle the issue head on, adding that “every sensible person today is highly concerned over the way and manner so-called social media has almost taken over the dissemination of information.”
