The Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] has begun training its workers for next year's voters registration exercise.

Ninety workers drawn from the INEC headquarters in Abuja are being trained on how to use the direct data capture machine which would be used for registration of voters for the 2011 general elections.

The training is being done ahead of the supply of the direct data capture machines needed for the exercise.

INEC's head of hardware and training unit, Paul Omokore explained that the process of registering voters is not a difficult one and INEC workers are learning the process easily.
He also said that the entire process of registering a voter is expected for at most ten minutes, but in a country plagued with epileptic power supply and shoddy preparation, it is feared that the challenges faced during the last voters registration exercise may resurface.

Despite the looming uncertainty about the exercise, INEC's training Director; Eua Isiauwe said that the commission is ready for the exercise.

Nick Dazan, INEC's assistant director of public affairs, said the training program will ensure the electoral body produces a credible voter register to be used for the general elections.

"The commission is doing an integrated voter training exercise for its senior management staff... [This] will end on Friday. The idea is to familiarize the staff about the importance of having a credible voter register, which will, in turn, give rise to credible elections, and about how to train other staff about how to conduct the voter registration exercise, which is likely to take place in January next year," he said.

Dazan maintains that the training forms part of the electoral body's plan to organize credible elections in April.

"The senior staffs were enjoined by the commission to take the exercise more seriously and to appreciate that only a credible register can give rise to elections that are credible and acceptable to Nigerians and members of the international community," he said.

INEC has until January 2011 to procure the direct data capture machines for the voters registration exercise, but critics of the commission have accused the electoral body of dragging its feet in procuring the machines adding that the same problems that plagued the last voters registration exercise is likely to reoccur.