Hundreds of angry residents besieged yesterday the Yaba, Lagos Mainland office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), protesting the shoddiness in the distribution of the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs).
They said INEC plans to disenfranchise them in the 2015 general elections.
At 7:30am, the protesters under the aegis of Activists for Good Governance (AGG) disrupted traffic on Herbert Macaulay Way.
They carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Is INEC an agent of PDP”; “Jega, don’t act Federal Government’s script in Lagos”; “INEC logistic problems, beginning of rigging”; “INEC has hidden agenda, don’t disenfranchise Lagosians”; “Lagos is not Ekiti State”, among others.
Led by Comrade Declan Ihekaire, the protesters moved towards the commission’s gate, where they were stopped by a combined team of riot policemen and operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).
After a brief encounter with the security agents, the leaders of the groups met with Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, who assured them that no eligible voter would be disenfranchised.
Ogunmola said: “INEC has no plan to deprive anybody from exercising his or her voting rights. I can assure Lagosians we are responding to the complaints and we have doubled our efforts to ensure that the challenges are tackled adequately.”
He said INEC was working hard to ensure that all registered eligible voters got their PVCs.
The REC said the exercise would continue after the initial three days INEC gave to distribute the PVCs, adding that the exercise would hold later this month in the remaining nine local governments, which were not covered in the exercise.
“I want to assure the people that, by the time we conclude the exercise in Lagos, you will commend us.
“We know that there were hiccups in the distribution of the cards but there is no truth in the claim that INEC is short of staff. We will make up for the lapses in the subsequent exercise.”
Ihekaira said: “We are only using this medium to let INEC know that, it will not be business as usual. It is our right to choose the people we like. It is our right to vote out those who have held this country by the jugular.
“It is our right to vote out those we have invested too much hope in but have disappointed us along the line. INEC must prove that it is not being used or controlled. Power resides with the people.”
An hour after AGG members dispersed, another group, The Nucleus Group (TNG), marched on the INEC office to protest the exclusion of the Lagos East Senatorial District from the exercise.
It accused the commission of incompetency and partisanship.
The TNG leader, Ademola Adesanya, wondered how the commission would conduct free and fair elections nationwide wahen it could not effectively distribute PVCs in a single state.
He said three days were not enough to distribute the cards to Lagos residents.
Adesanya said the personnel deployed for the exercise were too slow.
A resident of Somolu Local Government, Mrs. Are Alogba, said when she went to get her card, she was told it had been sent to another local government outside where she registered.
Another protester, Odubiro Olusola, described the exercise as “shoddy work”. He said INEC was giving people reasons to doubt its credibility.
Another group, Civil Society Coalition, which arrived at INEC office at noon, said the exercise showed that democracy was in danger.
Its leader, Adeola Ilori, said though INEC had given reason why it was facing distribution challenges, he said the national headquarters must make further clarifications.
The protesters marched on the office of Governor Babatunde Fashola to continue their protest.
The governor, who addressed the protesters at the Banquet Hall of the Lagos House, Ikeja, said on Friday when the exercise was supposed to start INEC officials were missing thus wasting the work free day declared by the government.
He added that on the second day, INEC officials did not surface until around 2pm in majority of the collection centres.
Fashola insisted that INEC has no excuse for not getting the exercise right and that the only option available to the agency was to get it right and do the needful.
He urged the people not give up or let their disappointment overwhelm their desire for good governance.
“From now on, Nigerians must stop accepting poor quality service from our agencies or bodies. If you cannot do it satisfactorily, get out of the place. We have been managing things for too long.”
He said the government was demanding an extension so that registered residents can collect their PVCs.
The governor urged eligible voters who have not registered to register and for those who might have registered before but could not trace their names to re-register.
He appealed to employers to allow their employees close early so they can collect their cards.
Fashola urged residents to maintain the peace as they go about their businesses.
A group, Centre for Transparent and Credible Election (CTCE), has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its handling of the distribution of the PVCs.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Wale Adeyemi, the group complained that “the exercise was fraught with irregularities such as duplication of names, missing names, mis-spelt names, inadequate materials as well as muddling up of identities”.
It called on INEC Chairman Prof Attahiru Jega to put his house in order.
Adeyemi said: “Nigerians, most especially the people of Lagos, expect nothing less than free, fair, credible and transparent elections in 2015. “Therefore, your commission should buckle up and do the needful.”
