The Independent National Electoral Commission said on Wednesday it has commenced the printing of 40 million permanent voters' cards.
The commission’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, made this known in Abuja, when he met participants at the International training seminar on national security organised by the Defence Intelligence School, Abuja.
He said the cards were part of the 70.5 million cards being planned by the commission, adding that the balance of 30.5 million cards would be ready by 2013.
He said INEC had been working round the clock to ensure the success of the project.
``We have gone very far, we are producing the first batch which is about 40 million of the 73.5 million voters who have been registered,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Prof. Jega as saying at the seminar.
INEC chairman said that by the end of 2013, every registered voter in the country, would have been provided with permanent voter's card to enable them vote in the 2015 general elections.
The permanent cards contained security features such as barcode, hologram, micro text, fingerprints, contactless/embedded chip with printed voter details and photograph.
The Commandant of the school, Wing.Cdr. Idris Hassan, said the visit was to “avail the 30 participants with the understanding, working and the concepts of national security from the INEC perspectives.”
Hassan said the school was responsible for the provision of strategic intelligence and specific training to members of the armed forces and other relevant agencies in the country.
This effort, he added, was being done in collaboration with France, Germany, America and Israel.

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