Fears of voting rights loss rise among would-be voters
Many Nigerians yesterday delivered a damning verdict on the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has failed, they said.
Those who want to register either because their data were lost by INEC or they have just clocked 18 have found it a harder task almost across the country.
INEC at the weekend extended the continuous registration in Lagos, Imo , Edo, Plateau, Kano and Ogun states till tomorrow. The registration was to have closed yesterday.
The extension of the continuous registration in Kano ran into hitches, as most of the prospective voters could be disenfranchised.
Prospective voters could not be registered in most of the polling units owing to shortage of manpower.
At Tarauni O1 Unit, which recorded a large turnout of people, especially women, many were disappointed.
An 81-year-old woman, Hasiya Ahmad, who came all the way from Farawa Quarters to register, could not do so, because only three INEC officials were attending to hundreds of people.
She said: “I am here to exercise my civic responsibility but to my astonishment I have been denied. I have been coming for the past six days to register but to no avail.
“Look, I’m sick and old and the place is overcrowded. As such, I cannot withstand this hectic situation,” she said.
An INEC official, Baba Dogo, said: “We are in danger. The security provided here is light. We can’t cope with the large crowd; we need more hands.”
The Kano Emirate called for an extension.
The district head of Makoda, Alhaji Wada Waziri Ibrahim, expressed disgust.
He said 30 per cent of Kano voters had been registered, which is a far cry from the residents’ expectation.
In Lagos, the distribution of PVCs in Ikorodu is a failure, leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said.
Besides, the APC chieftains expressed concern over the slow pace of the Continuous Voters’ Registration (CVR), which the commission started last Wednesday. They accused the commission of frustrating the people’s willingness to participate in the general elections.
The APC leaders, who spoke to reporters after a meeting held in the residence of a former Lagos Deputy Governor, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, described INEC’s shoddiness as “clumsy step” towards the general election.
Ogunleye said the PVC distribution was bungled in most of the polling units in Ikorodu, noting that frustration could make many people to lose faith in the electoral process. He accused INEC officials deployed in the area of handing over a chunk of the cards to unidentified individuals to share.
He said: “This tardiness could render PVC distribution susceptible to corruption and foul play. In CVR exercise, the arrangement is terribly frustrating because of the obsolete and malfunctioning machines deployed by INEC to register the people. In most places, the computers could not complete more than 10 new registration in a day.”
The former Deputy Governor cited an instance where would-be voters in 78 polling units of 146 in ward A5 were given PVC, noting that INEC officials took wrong voters’ lists to other wards. In many other places, he said, only a few eligible voters could get their PVCs.
Ogunleye added: “At units 14 and 15 in ward C2, 1,041 and 1,192 names there were respectively displayed on the voters’ lists, but less than 30 per cent of the people were able to collect their PVCs because of disruption by some sponsored hoodlums and sloppy preparation by INEC.
“If the registered voters in the 2006 and 2011 INEC registration exercise in Ikorodu Local Government were 197,631 and 339,139 respectively, we are afraid that with the clumsy step and sloppy preparation of INEC, the number of registered voters that would be declared for Ikorodu may be statistically untenable.”
Given what the APC leaders described as “technical difficulties” in the process, they demanded two weeks extension to compensate for its inadequacies.
Former Secretary to Lagos State Government, Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Basorun said the party expected more than 600,000 voters in Ikorodu axis because of influx of people into the area. He urged the commission to improve its performance to prevent massive disenfranchisement.
Others APC chieftains at the meeting included the former Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanyo, Chief Kaoli Olusanya and Alhaji Waheed Owokodu.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said:
“ The situation on ground is pathetic and terrible as majority of the people in Ikorodu area of Lagos State were not able to get their voter card. This is largely so because of the short time allowed by INEC.
“As l am speaking to you, my parents, Alhaja and Alhaji Dabiri who are octogenarians, could not even see their names, let alone collecting their cards, likewise a lot of aged people in the area. The situation is just pathetic as people are almost frustrated on the issue.
“I look forward for continuous registration that will give room for all those who are eleigible voters to get their permanent cards so that they will not be disenfranchised.
“I have received several calls from different areas in Lagos how they were frustrated on the issue. However, the good side of it is that new registration is taking place and l hope all those that have been denied in the past will have the opportunity to be registered.”
Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) leader Hon.Wale Oshun said: “The Permanent Voters card was badly managed. The situation in Yaba area just like other areas in Lagos, is nothing to write home about. This was largely due to the short time allocated to the collection and re registering of new eligible voters.
“In general and in terms of assessing INEC on the issue of permanent voters card, it was disappointing. The most sensible thing is to extend the period of collection and re-registration for new eligible voters.
“Due to the recent awareness, people are ready to register; preferably, they have the opportunity to do so. I did not find my own name on the register where l initially registered, likewise a lot of people in this area of Lagos State.”
Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye said: “It was frustration galore due to the nature of the capturing machine which took time to locate the particulars of voters. Therefore, it was time consuming and only few people could be attended to.
“If it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to attend to one person, then you can imagine what it will take to attend to several people within the time provided. The turnout was impressive due to the awareness campaign, so in order not to dis-enfranchise some people, INEC has to extend the time to accommodate all intended eligible voters.”
Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole accused some politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of importing mercenaries to register in their wards to boost their number.
Speaking after monitoring the continuous registration at Ward 10, Iyamho, Etsako Central Local Government Area, Oshiomhole said bus-loads of mercenaries were imported into the state and were given cover by “soldiers”.
Said the governor: “I have heard that some politicians are bringing in people from neighbouring states and I find that very strange. I was told that somewhere in Uromi, a PDP leader brought in soldiers to provide escort while they brought in people with buses from neighbouring states to register in one of the wards in Uromi and I find that very worrisome because the whole idea is not to import mercenary voters.
“The idea was to give an opportunity to those who didn’t register before to register. I can understand if someone who is resident outside his village wants to go back to the village for the purpose of election but the villagers know everybody. So, when you now import people who are not from the village and register them, that distorts the numbers and creates problems. It creates problems for the electoral system.”
Oshiomhole urged INEC to ensure that there are no mercenary voters.
The governor added that the time allotted for the Continuous Voters Registration is inadequate due to the large number of people who still wish to register and the allocation of one Direct Data Capture Machine per ward to cater for the large numbers.
He said: “There are lots of people who cannot register because of logistic problems. In many wards, the machines were not available the first day and the second day and it took time apparently for INEC to prepare a lot of the machines before putting them to the various wards.”
The APC in Niger State alleged that it uncovered a grand plan to aid PDP to rig next year’s general elections.
The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Jonathan Vatsa, alleged that particulars of eligible voters in some strongholds of the opposition party were missing. He feared that they may not get voter card.
Aside condemning the postponement of the dates for the distribution of PVC by the electoral body, the party said it had discovered that the particulars of voters in seven wards of Shiroro and Gbako local government areas were missing.
The party said the sharp practice by the electoral body was responsible for the outcome of the last Niger East by-elections when many of its supporter we’re unable cast their votes because their names were missing from the register.
“What worries us in the APC is that INEC said that there should be Continuous Voters Registration (CVR). The pertinent question is, what becomes of those who have earlier registered but their names could not be traced on the INEC register?
“Our fear is that many of our supporters may be disenfranchised before 2015 general elections thereby giving way for rigging and all other manipulations of elections in Niger State,” the APC said.
