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Tag: INEC

  • KOWA party advocates legislation for political party registration

    KOWA party advocates legislation for political party registration

    The KOWA Party has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to approach the National Assembly for a legislation for political party registration.

    Mr Mark Adebayo, the National Secretary of KOWA, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday that it was unrealistic for INEC to continue to register more parties on daily basis.

    According to him, I do not think we should have more than 10 political parties in this country.

    “We in KOWA strongly think that INEC cannot continue registering political parties; asides the fact that it is too expensive for the commission to go round the 36 states and FCT to monitor party congresses, it is unrealistic to have 52 political parties.

    “Also, about 100 have so far applied for registration, we cannot continue like this. There has to be a way to limit the number of political parties in the country.

    “There is urgent need for INEC to approach the National Assembly, there has to be a legislation on the present number of political parties that we have,’’ Adebayo said.

    The scribe said that proliferation of political parties was the reason manifestoes of almost all the parties were alike saying it has become just a `written verbatim’.

    He urged INEC to set minimum standards for registration of political parties disagreeing with a situation whereby political parties met requirements of law, gets registered and go home to sleep.

    “Political realities are different from freedom of association; your freedom of association should not lead you to having parties that you will not be able to monitor or sustain.

    “You are free to associate, but every family or street does not need to form a political party. It will destroy our democracy,’’ he said.

    The KOWA scribe however, suggested the need for INEC to introduce a pamphlet that would carry names of all registered political parties instead of going to print a long ballot paper that could lead to voter apathy.

    According to him, there has to be a way for people to spend the barest minimum time at the polling booth.

    NAN reports that there are 68 registered political parties in Nigeria at present.

    More associations have applied to INEC to be registered as political parties.

     

  • 2019 election budget ready in seven days – INEC Chairman

    Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said that the 2019 General Elections budget would be ready in seven days.

    Mahmood disclosed this in his in an address of welcome at a Two-Day 2019 Election Project Plan (EPP) Implementation for the senior management staff of the commission in Lagos.

    “It is exactly a year today to the 2019 General Elections scheduled for Feb. 16, 2019, the commission has developed a strategic plan and programme of actions (2017-2021), in full consultation with stakeholders.

    “In order to implement the plan, the commission then developed detailed activities and assigned specific responsibilities and time lines for the 2019 general elections under the Election Project Plan (EPP).

    “There is no time to waste; the 2019 General Elections are already around the corner. These are the last activities before the conduct of the general elections.’’

    He said “we have finalized and validated the election project plan, thereafter, finalize work on the election’s budget for 2019, this will be ready next week.

    “Part of the successful implementation of the election plan is funding and the commission is not unaware that Nigerians are anxious to know the cost of the 2019 General Elections.

    “The commission believes in optimal utilization of resources which is dependent on proper planning.

    “With the validation of EPP workshop, having concluded and validated the strategic plan and plan of actions, work on 2019 elections budget will be concluded next week

    “Immediately after the validation, the budget will be presented to the appropriate authority for consideration and funding,’’ the chairman said.

    He said that the commission would continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) were given necessary support to implement EPP.

    Mahmood urged RECs to mobilise all members of staff of the commission to enable them prepare to play their respective roles to ensure the hitch-free general elections.

    According to him, activities ranging from the assessment of the current election infrastructure, acquisition and deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials would take place as specified.

    Mahmood stated that the objectives of the 197 activities of EPP include: “harmonizing the activities and needs of all departments and directorates of the commission into an implementable plan for the 2019 elections.

    Others he said include “Organising the 2019 general elections in line with the highest global professional standards to deliver cost effective but high quality general elections in 2019.

    “Ensure that all stakeholders are carried along and create a level playing field for all candidates and political parties in administering the 2019 general elections

    “Also to ensure accountability and responsibility of all INEC staff in the conduct of 2019 general elections”.

    Mahmood said that each of the 197 activities of EPP responded to specific actions and tasks to be carried out within a specified timeline.

    He called for diligent and meticulous monitoring, close supervision and sustained of the EPP for understanding and adherence to timeline.

    On the concern in certain quarters about the possible prevalence of ineligible registrants on voter register, Mahmood said the commission was equally concerned and worried.

    The INEC boss also said that the recent reports of violation by underage person, following the Kano Local Government Election were deeply disturbing.

    “We wish to assure Nigerians that the matter will be fully investigated and we will share the findings of the investigation with the public.

    “I wish to assure Nigerians that voter register, nationwide, will be purged of any possible ineligible registrants,” he said.

    According to him, the investigation becomes necessary because the credibility of an election is drawn from the credibility of voter register.

    He noted that eligibility for registrations include citizenship, residence and mandatory attainment of age of 18 years.

    Mathmood said between July and December, 2017, 3, 978,682 were registered afresh nationwide.

    He also disclosed that 135, 127 unclaimed Permanent Voter Cards were collected and 166,073 requests made for transfer of PVCs while the commission received 334,086 requests for replacement of PVCs.

    In terms of distribution by state, the INEC boss said that Rivers recorded the highest number of voters, followed by Delta and Lagos while Kwara, Gombe and Ondo recorded the lowest.

    On the ongoing voter registration, Mahmood assured that only legally eligible citizens would be screen and registered, saying INEC has 1446 registration centres nationwide.

    He said that the commission had deployed additionally Direct Data Capturing machines, staff and resources nationwide to address the challenges people faced in exercise.

    Presenting the 2019 EPP report, Prof. Bolade Eyinla said that the reports harmonised the activities and needs of all departments, units and directorate of INEC into implementing the plan for the general elections.

    Eyinla is the Technical Adviser to INEC Chairman.

    He further said his committee was inaugurated in May 2017 and was informed by success of the EPP in 2015, which centralised planning for the election.

    “It is important that all hands are on deck to deliver more credible elections in 2019.

    “The plan is to ensure that the 2019 elections will be conducted in line with the highest global standard and to deliver cost efficient but high quality elections.

    Eyinla said that all state offices, led by RECs, designed and established their Election Monitoring Support Centres, structured to monitor and support the implementations of EPP.

    Mr Shalva Kipshidze, Country Director, IFES said the EPP was developed by INEC with the support of IFES to enhance electoral integrity and good governance.

    National Electoral Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Administrative Secretaries, directors, Heads of Departments among other senior staff of the commission attended the workshop.

    The workshop was facilitated by INEC’s international partners (the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN), European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).

  • Underage voting: INEC constitutes committee to investigate LG elections in Kano

    Sequel to the alleged participation of underage boys and girls in last weekend’s local government elections in Kano State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday constituted an investigative panel to probe the allegations as raised against the Commission by concerned Nigerians

    Following nationwide outrage that sparked fears of irregularities in the coming general elections, the electoral umpire initially responded that it should not be blamed for the brazen violations of electoral law because it didn’t conduct the Kano council elections.

    But while INEC was procedurally correct that Kano State Independent Electoral Commission conducted the election and should be held responsible for alleged abuses, critics blamed INEC officials for registering people who have not attained the age of maturity to begin with.

    The Nigerian electoral law requires that a voter must be at least 18 years of age.

    INEC is the only statutory body that registers voters and keeps the database of certified Nigerian electorate.

    The investigative panel will start work next week, INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu said on Friday.

    The constitution of the panel was announced by Mr. Yakubu at the election preparation workshop underway at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos.

     

    More to come…

  • Our officials sometimes threatened to register underage voters – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission says some underage voters are being registered in some parts of the country because the lives of registration officers are being threatened by some members of the community.

    The Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said this on Wednesday during a programme on the African Independent Television titled, ‘Kakaaki.’

    Osazze-Uzzi, while answering questions over pictures and videos on the social media showing children registering and voting in northern Nigeria, said when officials refused to register underage persons, their lives were threatened by members of the community and they eventually caved in.

    The INEC director said, “I agree that it is the responsibility of the registration officer to do that (refuse to register underage persons), but there are times that circumstances are such that where there is present and clear danger that he risks being assaulted or being killed, I think it will be unreasonable to expect him not to succumb to the pressure. But we encourage them to report immediately they get out of that dangerous zone.”

    Osazze-Uzzi said INEC had received reports from some members of the National Youth Service Corps taking part in the exercise.

    He added that parents came along with their children claiming that their children were over 18 and usually forced registration officers to register the underage children.

    The INEC director said, “Even to the untrained eye, that child doesn’t look more than 15, but in such circumstances, you cannot argue too much with them. The law says the registration officer is entitled to act on some kind of identification or birth certificate or proof of age.

    “But very often, they are resisted, especially when there are lots of people there. They are challenged in a charged atmosphere and they are there without any protection. Many of them are there in strange communities which they don’t know anything about. So, there is undue pressure on them to register at this point.”

    Osaze-Uzzi, however, said mechanisms had been put in place such that after an underage person is registered, he could be removed from the register.

    He said the registers were usually inspected by senior INEC officials who could identify underage persons through their facial looks or through assistance from members of the community.

    “It is not a complex process, you display the voter register and people come there. That is in addition to the fact that the registration officer can refuse anybody registration. But we don’t expect people to risk their lives for what is essentially a simple patriotic service.

    “But if they get away with that (getting registered) and the report is not taken, the second opportunity is when the register is displayed. The best opportunity is where higher officials physically look at each register as much as they can and those who are clearly not qualified are removed. So, it is a three-pronged process and there are different stages,” the INEC director added.
    He said the process of registration and voting could never be perfect since it was a human endeavour.

    He, however, said the media and members of the public should assist the commission by exposing such cases of underage registration and voting.

    Osaze-Uzzi said, “I think the law recognises that being a human endeavour, it may not be perfect and that is why it gives some kind of leeway such that when you weigh everything together, it is a reflection of what the people have chosen.

    “If one percent of the register has underage persons; will this affect the outcome? We agree that the register is the very foundation of every election and what we can do and what the media can do is that when we get these reports and we have a fair idea of where this issue is prevalent, we can look at the registers again, look at those who are clearly underage and try to weed them out and prevent them from exercising a franchise that does not belong to them legally.”

    The INEC director maintained that the local government election which held in Kano State was not organised by INEC but the state government.

    He assured members of the public that the 2019 general elections would be free, fair and credible.

  • Kano underage voting: We can’t trust INEC with 2019 elections – PDP

    Opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it cannot entrust the conduct of the 2019 general elections in the hands of the umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because of its recent registration and subsequent voting of underaged voters in the Local Government elections held in Kano State last Saturday.

    Recall that Pictures and videos of the voters recently went viral on social media shortly after the conduct of local government election in the state on Saturday.

     

    The former ruling party alleged that the documented “massive underage voting that characterised the exercise” was an indication that the Commission was “part of the exercise.”

    The party said it was INEC that registered the minors as voters in the first place and as such, should not, in any way, attempt to exonerate itself of involvement in the electoral fraud, simply because it did not directly conduct the elections.

    PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, said the press release by INEC, wherein it tried to exonerate itself from culpability in the participation of minors in the Kano election, clearly showed that INEC, under Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, would completely be unreliable and cannot be trusted.

    The statement said, “We ask: Who is fooling whom? Is it not INEC that registered the minors and issued them with Permanent Voters’ Cards to participate in elections as clearly documented in the Kano council election?

    “Can INEC truly absolve itself as the original culprit who set the stage for the eventual participation of the minors and overall rigging of the elections?

    “By resorting to lame excuses and trying to exonerate itself at a time it should be taking decisive steps to protect the sanctity of its sensitive materials such as the PVC, this INEC has shown that it cannot be relied upon as a responsible and trustworthy electoral umpire.

    “Indeed, if this INEC was serious about the sanctity of sensitive electoral materials, by now, it should have ordered the immediate review of its voter register in Kano and Katsina states, fishing out and prosecuting those who registered the minors and clean up the electoral system in the affected states.

    “Viewed alongside a series of numerous other irregularities being allowed by INEC to favour the ruling APC, including alleged conspiracy with APC-controlled security operatives to intimidate opposition members and manipulate elections as witnessed in the last Saturday’s Mashi/Dutsi Federal Constituency Supplementary election in Katsina State, any reasonable person will decode that INEC, as presently constituted, has serious questions to answer, especially as we approach the 2019 general elections.”

    Ologbondiyan added that while the party would now hold the statement by INEC as part of its strong evidence of irregularities and violations in the elections, he charged the Commission to redeem its name by immediately reviewing and sanitising its voter registers in affected states, particularly, Kano and Katsina, adding that, that was the only way it could demonstrate its dependability to Nigerians.

    He warned that Nigerians would not accept anything short of credible, free and fair general election in 2019.

    “The commission should therefore ensure that it does not allow itself to be used by the APC against the will of the people, particularly in the 2019 elections, as such will be highly resisted,” he added.

  • INEC disassociates self from social media images of under-aged voters

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disassociated itself from the current videos and pictures in the social media platforms, showing under-aged persons thumb-printing ballot papers and voting in an election.

    INEC made the clarification in a statement signed by its Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Osaze-Uzzi said the images which have gone viral did not relate in any way to any election organised, conducted or superintended by the commission.

    The director said the commission could not be held directly or vicariously liable for an exercise outside its legal purview.

    “It should be pointed out here that local government elections are exclusively the responsibility of the respective State Electoral Commissions, who are in no way under the control and supervision of INEC.

    “As far as the commission is concerned, they relate to a local government election conducted at the weekend, over which INEC has no legal control or responsibility whatsoever,” he stated.

    Osaze-Uzzi restated the commitment of INEC to sanitising the electoral process of the country.

    “The commission remains resolute in its commitment to sanitise the nation’s electoral process and deliver free, fair and credible elections,” he said.

    The director said INEC was doing all it could to ensure a credible register of voters.

    He said that in addition to running the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), the commission would employ its business process rules to weed unlawful entries.

    He said INEC was aware of the challenges encountered in some quarters by prospective registrants in the ongoing nation-wide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

    Osaze-Uzzi said steps had been taken to ameliorate the situation through the acquisition and deployment of new Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines for registration.

    The director said the commission had also increased the number of registration centres in the affected areas.

    He appealed to those who did not register in the previous registration exercises to do so now.

    He gave the assurance that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) of those who registered in 2017 would be ready for collection in May 2018.

     

  • INEC partners NIGCOMSAT for credible elections in 2019

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made known its intention to partner with the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, (NIGCOMSAT) to deploy appropriate technology to conduct free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

    According to a report on the commission’s site inecnews.com, the chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said this while addressing the management of NIGCOMSAT in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The INEC Chairman noted that time had come to “mobilise all national asset and institutions for the success of elections.”

    Yakubu, who was at the agency’s office with members of the commission, expressed optimism that partnering with NIGCOMSAT, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, as well as telecommunications operators in the country would ensure “that challenges to the seamless transmission of results are defeated.”

    The commission had earlier sought the help of the NCC to electronically transmit and collate results during the said elections.

    The chairman explained that the commission planned to leverage on the capacity of NIGCOMSAT to provide a wide range of telecommunication services especially in some areas not fully covered by 3G or 4G networks.

    “Through the NCC, we are reaching out to the telecommunications operators for the necessary connectivity to ensure that results of elections from each of the 119,973 Polling Units nationwide are electronically transmitted, including scanned images of result sheets.

    “While we appreciate the tremendous reach of the telecommunications operators, we are equally aware that some of our Polling Units are located in places where 3G and 4G networks are not available for real time electronic transmission of results.

    “We wish to leverage the capacity of the NIGCOMSAT to provide a wide range of telecommunication services. In particular, your broadband service offers tremendous flexible bandwidth capacity that can be deployed almost anywhere and in a short period of time, including hard-to-reach and temporary locations. These are invaluable to the work of INEC.”

    According to the chairman, areas of collaboration the commission looks forward to include: extension of satellite coverage to areas currently not covered by 3G and 4G networks so that INEC can transmit election results from each polling unit nationwide irrespective of location and voter education and sensitisation through electronic message display.

    Stressing on the importance of the collaboration between both organisations, he said: “This is also one way to actualise the lofty goals of NIGCOMSAT to positively impact on national development in diverse sectors through deployment of high-tech telecommunications infrastructure.”

    Yakubu reassured Nigerians that the commission would continue to make hard copies of result sheets available to political party agents at each polling unit to back the integrity of electronically transmitted results, as they “can be compared, verified and authenticated.”

    “And in keeping with our current practice, a copy of result for each election shall be pasted at the polling units immediately after the counting of the ballots for public knowledge.”

    The Director General/Chief Executive of NIGCOMSAT, Abimbola Alale, assured that her organisation was willing to support the commission in the consolidation of democracy.

    “We are very delighted that we can be of service to you and to be able to drive democracy to a new and better height. We want to be your partner, we want to work with you,” she said.

  • 2019 Election: INEC to deliver election results real-time

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will collaborate with Nigerian Communications Satellites Limited (NIGCOMSAT) to transmit results of the 2019 general elections in real-time.

    INEC chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu made this known when he and a delegation team from the commission visited NIGCOMSAT operation base in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The chairman and his team were taken on a tour of the Satellite Control Center, Network Operating Center, Broadband, Navigation, Innovation & Design unit and Direct-To-Home Center of the NIGCOMSAT.

    Professor Yakubu and members of the commission were received by the MD/Chief Executive Officer NIGCOMSAT, Mrs.Abimbola Alale.

    The INEC chairman expressed satisfaction with the products and services of NIGCOMSAT, and gave the assurance of the collaboration between the two organizations in carrying out the activities of e-collation and transmission of election results real time during the 2019 elections.

    He said that through NIGCOMSAT’s satellite and connectivity provided by telecom operators, the results of elections of each of the 119,973 polling units nationwide would be electronically transmitted on the spot and real time, including the scanned images of result sheets.

    The INEC chairman also said the commission wants NIGCOMSAT to help in voter education through electronics message display as the 2019 elections draw near.

    “It is for this reason that we wish to leverage on the capacity of NIGCOMSAT to provide a wide range of telecommunication services.

    “In particular, your broadband service offers a tremendous flexible bandwidth capacity that can be deployed almost anywhere and in a short period of time, including hard-to-reach and temporary locations.

    “These are invaluable to the work of INEC. Working with you and in partnership with the NCC as well as the telecommunications operators, we believe the challenges to the seamless transmission of results are not insurmountable”, he said.

    The INEC chairman said the commission is deepening its application of technology to elections hence the partnership with NIGCOMSAT.

    “INEC would continue to make available the hard copies of results sheets to political party agents at each polling unit and collation centres against which the integrity of the electronically-transmitted results can be compared, verified and authenticated.

    “Further, and in keeping with our current practice, a copy of the result for each election shall be pasted at the polling units immediately after the counting of ballots for public knowledge and accountability,” he added.

    In her remarks, the Ms Alale said NIGCOMSAT was ready to partner with INEC in transmitting election result to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.

    NIGCOMSAT’s Sat1-R, she said, is capable of covering and transmitting live and real time all that transpire during the election.

    TheNewsGuru reports INEC visit to NIGCOMSAT is part of continuous consultation with national bodies to deepen the application of technology for the upcoming 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu and his team also visited some voters’ registration centres in Abuja to monitor the progress of the exercise.

     

  • INEC official re-arrested over Diezani’s alleged N30m bribe to rig 2015 polls

    A former official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara, Christian Nwosu, who is standing trial over alleged N30 million bribe to rig the 2015 polls, was on Wednesday in Lagos re-arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Nwosu was alleged to have received the money from a former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 elections.

    The ex-INEC official was arrested after Wednesday’s proceedings in another criminal case at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    EFCC charged Nwosu and one Tijani Bashir with receiving N30 million bribe from Diezani to commit electoral fraud.

    They were arraigned along with Yisa Adedoyin, who pleaded guilty to receiving cash payment of N70 million from Diezani, who is also named in the charge as being “at large”.

    Nwosu pleaded guilty when he was first arraigned, but changed his plea to `not guilty’ after he claimed that the EFCC had induced him to plead guilty.

    On Wednesday, EFCC’s investigator, Mr Usman Zakari, tendered Nwosu’s account statements showing details of the N30 million transaction.

    The witness said Nwosu received N17 million via his Diamond Bank account and another N13 million through his Union Bank account.

    Zakari also tendered some land title documents allegedly acquired by Nwosu with some of the funds.

    After the documents had been admitted in evidence, the prosecution closed its case.

    The Defence Counsel, Mr Victor Opara, said his client would file a no-case submission, saying the prosecution’s case is baseless.

    After the proceedings, Nwosu and other accused were arrested outside the courtroom.
    NAN learnt that their arrests followed what EFCC source called “ fresh findings”.

    In the charge, the prosecution alleged that the duo had on March 27, 2015 accepted gratification to the tune of N264 million from the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Allison-Madueke.

    They were alleged to have conspired to take possession of the money which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of gratification.

    They were also accused of making cash payments to the tune of about N235 million which sum exceeded the amount authorized by law without going through a financial institution.

    On count seven, Nwosu was alleged to have directly used the sum of N30 million which he ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of gratification.

    The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 15 (3), 16 (2) and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibitions (Amendment) Act, 2015.

     

  • We are committed to entrenching sound democratic principles- INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is committed to entrenching sound democratic principles in Nigeria and meeting international standards of election management and processes.

    Mr Ethelbert Oranebo, the Electoral Officer in Okigwe Local Government area of Imo, made the commitment on Wednesday.

    He made the pledge at a town hall meeting of Okigwe Stakeholders with the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo, Prof. Francis Ezeonu.

    Oranebo, who was represented by Mr Ndubueze Nwaokoro, the Secretary Okigwe Local Government, said the meeting was to partner with major stakeholders in the electoral process.

    He said that the meeting was also to fine tune strategies to ensure all-inclusive processes.

    Orange said that the electoral commission in the local government area had successfully concluded the first, second and third phases of registration of voters, stressing that they were in the first of the 2018 exercise.

    According to Oranebo, the commission has successfully concluded the movement of Direct Data Capture Machine (DDC) in four wards in the local government namely, Ihube, Ogii, Umualumoke and Umulolo.

    He said that of the total 51,770 voters registered between 2014 and 2015, 17, 464 voter cards were yet to be collected in the local government.

    “Today, this town hall meeting is being organised purposely to create awareness with the view to promoting mass participation in the electoral process in Okigwe local government in particular and Imo in general,” he said.

    Oranebo thanked the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) and the Inter-Agency Advisory Committee on Voter Education and Publicity for the cooperation and support.

    He urged stakeholders to continue to assist the commission for it to be able to impart knowledge about the procedure and encourage positive attitude and behavour that would make the exercise in Okigwe free from violence and malpractices.

    Prof. Francis Ezeonu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo, stressed the importance of stakeholders, saying that INEC could not do it alone.

    He expressed regret for the lo turn out of people at the ongoing voter registration exercise and urged participants to take the message on the need for everyone to get registered back to the community.

    The electoral commissioner said he had been meeting with stakeholders from political, religious, women groups, youth leaders, civil society organisations and others on the voter registration and would carry the sensitization to all the 27 local government areas of the state.

    Ezeonu said that the Anambra election was a testimony that it would no longer be business as usual as the commission had put things in place to ensure peoples’ votes counted.

    “INEC is making efforts to tighten the ropes to avoid rigging.

    “Power is now in the hand of the people. It is no more business as usual; no more re-writing of results. Power has shifted to the voters. Party members are therefore advised to engage in effective campaign,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the stakeholders commended INEC for the sensitisation exercise.

    They, however, complained of the limited number of days assigned for the voter registration in each ward.

    They equally complained of delay in collection of permanent voter cards and the limited number of registration machines, which they said, would make it difficult for all persons to be captured within the time frame.

    Mr Emeka Ozurumba, Zonal Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Okigwe, expressed gratitude to INEC on the enlightenment campaign and the manner it conducted the Anambra election.

    Mr Tony Azumugha, the Special Adviser to Sen. Ben Uwajimogu, a Member Representing Okigwe Senatorial Zone, also complained of low turnout of people for the registration.

    He urged INEC to bring out more machines to ensure more eligible voters would be registered.