when citizens can freely walk into an INEC office or a designated centre to register as voters all year round. He stressed that henceforth, “voter registration is not going to be an event but part of a normal process in a democracy”.Professor Yakubu made the appeal at the flagging of ceremony of the CVR exercise, which took place at the INEC Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) office in Karu, Abuja, yesterday.
The INEC Chairman noted that voter registration was part and parcel of a normal process in a democracy, expressing believe that “time has come when citizens can freely walk into an INEC office or a designated centre to register as voters all year round. He stressed that henceforth, “voter registration is not going to be an event but part of a normal process in a democracy”.
He said that the exercise had begun simultaneously in all the 774 Local Government Area offices of the Commission and assured that the CVR exercise would be trickled down to the Wards and Polling Unit levels in due course.
Explaining the cost effectiveness of the exercise, which he said is done by engaging purely INEC staff who are not paid extra allowances, Professor Mahmood said: “for the current exercise which is confined to our 774 LGA offices nationwide, we mobilized over 4000 of our own staff. If we are to devolve this exercise to the ward levels, on the basis of 5 staff per ward, we will then recruit over 44,000 ad-hoc staff for the exercise”.
He also explained that the CVR exercise was aimed at providing registration opportunities for Nigerian citizens who have now attained the age of 18, citizens who for one reason or another did not register in previous elections and citizens who registered but their names were not found on the register.
Professor Mahmood further said the current exercise is also an opportunity to distribute uncollected PVCs from the previous exercise for those whose names are on the register and have collected the Temporary Voter Cards (TVC) but have not collected their PVCs. “However, for those whose names are on the register and have their TVCs but could not find their PVCs there is no need to register again, we will take note of their details on the register and print their PVCs so that they can collect them at the various centre’s in the next few months”, he said .
The INEC Chairman warned that the exercise was open only to Nigerian citizens, and stress that “it is illegal for foreigners to register just as it is also illegal for them to vote in our elections”. He disclosed that “the Nigerian Immigration Service has already apprehended many foreigners in possession of the Permanent Voter Cards and appropriate action is being taken against them”.
For those who lost their TVCs or PVCs but whose names were on the register, the INEC Chairman explained that: “they will be guided by our officials in the various registration centres on the procedure for obtaining replacement of their PVCs”.
He also said that exercise offers opportunity for persons to correct information on their data. People with errors such as: wrong date of birth, names and gender need not to register again, as INEC officials at the registration centres would provide the much needed assistance in correcting such errors.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) FCT Chapter, Reverend (Comrade) Joseph S. Ndirang, commended the Commission for the initiative for conducting CVR and pledged the support of the umbrella body and its members towards ensuring the success of the exercise.
He further appealed to the Commission to consider extending the exercise to the ward and polling unit levels to enable more eligible Nigerians have easy access to the registration centres.
On his part, the AMAC Chairman, Abdullahi Candido, in emphasizing the importance of the CVR exercise, said his Council had began massive awareness campaigns and sensitization programs on the need for eligible citizens to get registered and collect their PVCs as well.
Similarly, Samson Itodo, of the Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), who spoke on behalf of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), pledged the support of the Civil Society at enlightening the citizenry and urged Nigerians to seize the opportunity to get registered collect their PVCs and vote so as to ensure they exercised their franchise and deepen the roots of democracy.
