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Tag: PVC

  • PVC: Anambra citizens cry out over slow pace, inadequate facilities, staff

    PVC: Anambra citizens cry out over slow pace, inadequate facilities, staff

    The snail pace at which officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have displayed in the registration of new potential voters, which according to investigations was attributed to inadequate personnel/data capturing machines is worrying Anambra citizens.
    The All Progressives Congress(APC) candidate for Idemili North State Constituency, Hon Chibuzor Okeke expressed deep concern that after the intense sensitization and mobilization he embarked on, it was unfair to find out that lack of adequate number officials has continued to throw spanner in the works at the INEC offices.

    According to him, we are worried about constant reports of lack of facilities, data-capturing machines and staff to register the people who have been trooping out to be registered for their Permanent Voters Card(PVC).
    He confirmed that since he took up the sensitization for registration for PVC, the awareness rate has multiplied. This, he admitted, was healthy for the polity. As it would enable more right people to be elected.

    Hon Okeke, a visibly active, exuberant and eager young politician who secured the ticket of APC in a landslide fashion said he was coming to make the widely expected remarkable difference in quality representation for the people.

    Reacting to the increased civil agitations in parts of the country almost daily, Okeke admitted it was part of the tenets of democracy and free speech. He therefore appealed to the Federal Government to listen to the agitators with a view to addressing them.
    He used the opportunity of addressing journalists to charge the electorate to vote individuals like himself, Dr Ifeanyi Ibezi for the Idemili Federal House of Representatives and Hon Donatus Ngige for Idemili South State Constituency because they are people we all know and believe in for performance.

  • INEC fixes new date to end voters registration

    INEC fixes new date to end voters registration

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a new deadline for the end of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

    The CVR, it said, will end on July 31 and won’t resume until after the 2023 general elections.

    The Commission earlier shifted the deadline of June 30, following an Order of Court that restrained it from ending the exercise.

    According to a statement by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, : “The CVR is hereby extended for another two weeks until Sunday 31st July 2022, thereby bringing the total duration of the extension to 31 days (1st – 31st July 2022)”.

    INEC added: “Commission met in an extraordinary session today, Friday 15th July 2022, and discussed among other things, the suspension of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

    “This followed the judgement delivered by the Federal High Court on Wednesday 13th July 2022 in which it dismissed the suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) which is seeking an extension of the exercise beyond 30th June 2022.

    “The Court has affirmed that INEC is at liberty to appoint a date of its choice to suspend the CVR, provided it is not later than 90 days before the date fixed for the General Election as provided in Sec. 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.

    “In compliance with the interim injunction of the Court pending the determination of the substantive suit, and in order to enable more Nigerians to register, the Commission continued with the CVR beyond 30th June 2022. For this reason, the CVR has already been extended beyond 30th June 2022 for a period of 15 days”.

    It added: “With the judgement of the Federal High Court, all legal encumbrances have now been removed. Accordingly, the Commission has taken the following decisions:

    “The CVR is hereby extended for another two weeks until Sunday 31st July 2022, thereby bringing the total duration of the extension to 31 days (1st – 31st July 2022).

    “The exercise has also been extended to eight hours daily from 9.00am – 5.00pm instead of the current duration of six hours (9.00am – 3.00pm) daily; and

    “The exercise is also extended to include weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) as against only weekdays.

    “We appreciate that the timeframe may be tight for many prospective registrants, but there is a lot that the Commission is required to do under the electoral legal framework in relation to voter registration and compilation of the register that will require time to accomplish. For instance, the Commission is required to”.

    Explaining the decision, the Commission said it has to among other things, “clean-up of the register to remove multiple registrants using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS);

    “Consolidate the national register of voters (existing voters and new registrants) and display same on Polling Unit basis for each of the 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) across the 774 Local Government Areas nationwide for public scrutiny. This lasts for a period of one week. On the basis of a new projection of 95 million voters, on the basis of 10 voters per page, the Commission has to print 9,500,000 pages for the display;

    “Print millions of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for all fresh registrants and applicants for transfer and replacement of lost or damaged PVCs;

    “Ensure that there is ample time for voters to collect their PVCs ahead of the 2023 General Election;

    “Print the final register of voters in triplicate for the 2023 General Election involving a projected 28,500,000 pages for accreditation and display at 176,846 polling units for national elections (Presidential and National Assembly) on 25th February 2023 and State elections (Governorship and State Assembly) on 11th March 2023; and

    “Make copies of the updated national register of voters available to political parties not later than 30 days to the date fixed for the General Election.

    “We appeal for the patience and understanding of all Nigerians as we conclude the exercise which will resume after the 2023 General Election”

    It continued that, “we observed that following the continuation of the exercise beyond 30th June 2022, many of the registration centres recorded low turnout of prospective registrants. With this two-week extension, we appeal to eligible citizens not to wait until the last few days before they inundate the centres again to register.

    “We appreciate the interest of Nigerians to register and participate in the electoral process and once again reiterate our commitment to credible and transparent elections. This can only be achieved with the support and cooperation of all Nigerians”.

  • Delta State Orientation Bureau Enlightenment campaign on Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and Collection of PVC team ongoing

    Delta State Orientation Bureau Enlightenment campaign on Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and Collection of PVC team ongoing

     

    The sensitization team was at Warri South Local Government area visiting Igbudu Market, Warri Central Motor park, Ogbe-Ijoh Market, and Central Hospital junction. The team was at Udu Local Government Areas with stops at Opete junction and Motor park, Mofor junction and adjoining areas thru Ovwian junction, Jigbale Market and Enerhen junction. At Uvwie Local Government Area the team was at Effurun roundabout, P. T. I junction Motor park, Ugbolokposo junction and Ugbomro and Okuokoko.

  • 2023 : Dr Ayuba urge people of Kaduna to register for PVC

    2023 : Dr Ayuba urge people of Kaduna to register for PVC

    In an interactive session with Southern Kaduna Journalists Forum, Dr John Ayuba, running mate to Mr Isah Ashiru, the  PDP Governorship candidate of  Kaduna State, stated that the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) is the key to inclusive governance in the state.

    Ayuba, a former Commissioner for Finance in the state called on the people to come out en mass to register for their cards as very critical to deciding elective positions in the 2023 General Elections.

    He said that the candidature of Ashiru provided the opportunity for inclusive governance that would ensure equal opportunity for every resident of the state, irrespective of religion and ethnicity.

    He explained that the Southern Kaduna people got stuck with Ashiru because of his strong connection with the people of the area and his touch with rural communities.

    He said that the PDP under Ashiru, if given the opportunity, would operate open governance that would be inclusive and gender-sensitive.

    “Ashiru was part of the success stories of Sen. Ahmed Makarfi era from 1999 to 2007, who worked hard to close the divide between northern and southern parts of the state.

    “He has maintained his ties with the people of Southern Kaduna, and we have confidence that he has our interest at heart and will work for the interest of all in the state.

    “We will work to improve our voting strength in southern part of the state and push for the support of the PDP to deliver good and inclusive governance to people.

    “We are confident that he will build bridges to connect the people of the state to together and work as a united front for socio-economic development of the state,” he said.

    He said 65 per cent of the voters were youths and urged the journalists to galvanise the people to support the party because of its principle of fairness and inclusive governance.

    Mr Ango Bally of Invicta FM who spoke on behalf of the forum, an interest group, said that the objective of the meeting was to familiarise with the deputy governorship candidate.

    Bally congratulated Ayuba, from Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of the state, on being picked as the running mate to Ashiru and urged him to represent the Southern Kaduna people well if elected to office.

    He said that while the people were yearning for change, the party must demonstrate seriousness to take over the political power and provide quality representation.

    Mr Luka Binniyat of Epoch Times, said that the people would be willing to support the PDP, but it was yet to convince the people that it was ready to restle power from the ruling APC.

    Binniyat said that the party needed to come out strongly and demonstrate the capacity to take power and deliver good governance.

    He advised the PDP as the strong opposition to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to up their game otherwise they might lose the 2023 elections again.

    Mr Bomba Dauda, Publisher of Gurara Accord, pointed out that the southern Kaduna people gave over 500,000 votes to the PDP in the 2019 General Elections, while the northern zone polled only 263,3440 votes for the party.

    Dauda said that to win the 2023 election, the governorship candidate needed to mobilise votes from his constituency to match what the Southern Kaduna people were doing for the party.

  • INEC express concern over low PVC registration in Katsina State

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Katsina State has expressed concern over the poor turnout of residents registering for the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) in the newly established 1,750 polling units.

    Alhaji Jibril Zarewa, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Friday in Katsina.

    He said that one year after the commencement of PVC registration, there was a poor turnout of people for registration in the newly established polling units.

    According to Zarewa, “In May 2022 when we did analysis, we realised out of the 1,750 newly established polling units, about 1,200 units did not have more than 50 people who registered in each of them.

    “This registration involved transfers. Some of the polling units have zero registration, some have only one, some five while some have not more than 50 people who registered.

    “Although this can be attributed to the suspension of telecommunication networks in 17 of the 34 Local Government Areas (LGAs) for about five months due to the security problem.

    “Since the resumption of the exercise in March, out of the 1,750 polling units created, about 1,200 don’t have up to 50 people that registered in each of them.

    “We are appealing to the people of those areas where the new polling units were created to go and register, as INEC is always ready for them.

    “The reasons for the creation of additional polling units is to serve the areas and decongest the congested polling units through the transfer of their polling units, he said.

    He disclosed that initially there were 4,902 polling units in the state but with the creation of the additional ones, there are 6,652 polling units at present.

    Zarewa explained that the collection of the PVCs is appreciable, saying towards the 2019 election, INEC had to stop the issuance of the PVCs.

    “As at that time, we had about three per cent of our cards collected, which means out of the 3.230 million PVCs, we had, just about 50,000 not collected.

    “As of Jan. 12, 2022, we have taken 53,000 from the headquarters, and just a few days ago, we have taken an additional 20,000 for people who made corrections.”

  • INEC and machine promises, a little skepticism may help – By Okoh Aihe

    INEC and machine promises, a little skepticism may help – By Okoh Aihe

    Some interesting developments are taking place before us. Elections come up next year but the heat is on, already. Young people are trooping out across the nation to register as a precursor to getting their permanent voter cards (PVCs). The excitement is high but so is the foreboding on the part of dubious politicians who are not so sure any more what the next wave of reaction may be.

    Forced into undeserved concerts by the European Union (EU), the usually sanctimonious Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was forced into extending the registration period after a choreographed response of no to every reasonable appeal made by well-meaning individuals and organisations.

    I am not surprised at all that there is a renaissance in the reasoning of these young people whose lives and future have been compromised and put in absolute jeopardy by this government. Reasons come in painful droves but I give only two.

    One painful evening, on October 20, 2020, a number of young people, mostly students who were engaged in a peaceful protest code-named #EndSARS, to force the Nigerian government to look into the ignoble operations of an arm of the Police Force called SARS, were killed by the Nigerian Army and the Police at the Lekki Tollgate in what the local, national and international media described as a massacre. There was a litany of evidence but the government declared the contrary and went after organisations who dared to ventilate the truth that was clear even to the visually challenged. Our young people lost friends and colleagues and played ugly host to wickedness in high places while singing the National Anthem and waving the Nigerian flag. The judicial panel of enquiry set up even by the Lagos State government stayed on the side of the people as it confirmed there was indeed a massacre. This is not a story you forget overnight.

    The second reason. Since February 14, 2022 or March 14, 2022, depending upon the date your tolerance can accommodate, Nigerian university students have been at home courtesy of a strike called by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). For over four months, their lives have been put on hold, like a telephone call that is paused. Even with all the technology the call can suddenly drop and conversation is terminated. We are not a nation of figures, so nobody is calculating the cost of the strike to the students, their parents, the lecturers and how all that impacts on the quality of scholarship or pedagogy in our institutions and the overall health of the nation. Obviously there is a wrench in this generation that may be very difficult to heal. Although so many phantasmagoric tales are being told about the reawakening of these young people, I am forced to confess that it would have been irresponsible if they did not harvest this opportunity to send a clear message to some of the politicians that have turned their lives upside down. After seven years, this government has stubbornly refused to accept responsibility for any ill in the land. The youth may just be ready to send a message. Who benefits is a different matter and it is not anything that anybody can willfully appropriate.

    Seeing that it cannot move against the tide, INEC has promised to send more machines into the field, beginning from Abuja, with the overall boss, Prof Mahmood Yakubu saying that everybody that has come out for the exercise will be registered. For instance, about 50 more voting machines will be sent to the Area 10, Old Parade Ground in Abuja. Without claiming to be overwhelmed, I am sure that even INEC is not amused by the frothing interest of the people, and must now bend over backwards to accommodate all such interests.

    And this is where my fear creeps in, looking at the unsavoury history of this nation when it comes to data capturing. We are not good at it all. Data is captured at the banks, (bank verification number, BVN). Data is captured when you process your national identity card, and must therefore carry a national identity card number (NIN) like a blood sample. Data is captured when you buy a SIM (subscriber identification module) card, through the process of SIM registration. Data is captured when you process your birth certificate at the National Population Commission (NPC). Data is captured when you process your driving license. And data is captured when you process your international passport at the Immigrations. Everywhere you turn is data capture without control and appropriate deployment but the hapless Nigerian is forced to endure every arising inconvenience.

    My concern with the ongoing voter registration is that the frontend seems to be enjoying some attention and sunshine but what is happening at the backend? At what time will all the data captured be migrated to the main server for keeps and onward processing? Yakubu has promised that all those registering now will get their PVCs by October. What this communicates is that the backend may also have been taken into consideration. But as they say, talk is cheap. There is every welcome need to be cynical until the final output, which are the PVCs, are delivered.

    Oh, this red flag is not necessary? I appeal that you take a look at only two examples. SIM registration began in Nigeria in 2011. Seven tech companies were initially engaged by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to carry out the exercise. Further down the road, the operators themselves also became implementers who were involved in the process of SIM registration. But there was always a problem between the frontend and the backend, tedious data scrubbing to achieve some level of integrity and cumbersome harmonisation problems which continued to prove a nightmare. The operators were to carry the blame, unfortunately.

    The NIN/SIM data verification process which began in December 2021 has not been weaned from such convoluting uncertainties. NIMC originally had the responsibility to issue national identity cards but did not have the capacity to perform. The situation worsened when the data verification process was dropped in its plate of engagement. After the initial rodomontade claim of capacity, the telecom operators were later pressured into joining in the data verification process. This writer is aware that the operators invested massively in buying hardware for the exercise. Till date quite a number of these machines have not been properly formatted, and the data captured by the various operators go through a verification process that is nightmarish. Again the biggest drawback is the relationship between the frontend and the backend. Closure to the verification exercise is open-ended after repeated threats and there are no indications that it will end in the foreseeable future.

    I am of the considered opinion that INEC doesn’t have the capacity to perform magic. Not even the assurances from the chief executive will influence my position on this. The story that is unfolding before us may not be too different from the examples listed above especially when weighed against a past that is woolly. Is it not the same INEC that recorded a perfect score in terror-ravaged areas where the internally displaced people (IDPs) voted more than states where there was relative peace then?

    Whatever INEC is saying, the youths, more than the various political parties, should keep an eye on them. The capacity for mischief is not far from this organisation. I believe in the saying of my forebears that a leopard does not change skins overnight. Not even tech supremacy in terms of voter registration can make INEC achieve that feat.

  • Over 1m old PVCs, 28,000 new ones uncollected in Lagos – INEC

    Over 1m old PVCs, 28,000 new ones uncollected in Lagos – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State, says a total of 1,091,157 old Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are still uncollected by their owners in the state.

    The commission also said that after two months it flagged off the distribution of  34,242 newly printed PVCs for new registrants, only 6, 382 applicants had come for collection across the state.

    Mr Olusegun Agbaje, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC,  made this disclosure at the Stakeholders’ Meeting on Election with leaders of political parties, on Tuesday in Ikeja.

    Agbaje, who described as worrisome the low rate of PVCs collection across the 20 local government areas, added that the turnout for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) was not impressive at the start.

    This development, he said,  puts the state at fifth position nationwide in the number of new registered voters.

    He said: “The low rate of PVC collection in Lagos State is worrisome as only 6,382 PVCs out of 34,242 received from the Commission’s Headquarters for the first and second quarters CVR had been collected by their owners. This is just 18.6 per cent.

    “Similarly for the old PVCs, a total of 1,091,157 are still uncollected by their owners.

    “In view of the foregoing, I want to strongly urge you to continue to assist the Commission in mobilising the eligible citizens residing in Lagos State that are yet to collect their PVCs to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the ongoing collection of PVCs at the INEC LGA offices where they registered to collect their PVCs.

    “As anyone without the PVC cannot vote during any election.”

    The INEC boss, who hinted that the June 30 deadline for the ongoing CVR would slightly be extended, cautioned political leaders against do-or-die politics.

    According to him, this has become stock in trade of some politicians who want to win elections by all means including violence, malpractices, thuggery and all other election vices.

    Agbaje said that INEC was more worried that Lagos State was one of the most violent states during the last primary elections with five people reportedly killed in two local fovernment areas.

    “We cannot continue like this. Therefore, all hands must be on deck with the political party leaders at the forefront to make Lagos State one of the most peaceful states during electioneering campaigns and elections in 2023.

    “The political class must change her do or die attitude to good conduct in politics by doing away with all election vices including destroying the bill boards of opponents, using vulgar languages during campaigns and using thugs to harass political opponents.

    “It is important to stress that the inability of the political parties to imbibe the culture of genuine internal party democracy is unhealthy for the electoral process.

    “If we must achieve our collective goal of building a durable democratic culture, political parties must embrace the culture of sincere internal party democracy while also avoiding all forms of contraventions to the extant laws,” he said.

    Agbaje, who decried voter apathy, urged the party leaders to increase political awareness.

    He said that increased political education would no doubt increase the PVC collection rate and check voter apathy that had characterised past elections in the state.

    According to him, only 1,156,590 out of 6,570,291 registered voters (17.6 per cent) participated in the 2019 General Election in Lagos State while only 104, 405 out of 1,343, 448 registered voters (7.8 per cent) participated in the 2020 Lagos East Senatorial District bye-election.

    Agbaje, who noted that INEC was working assiduously round the clock toward ensuring the successful conduct of the 2023 elections, said that the commission would continue to focus on its mandate, guided by its mission and vision.

    He said: “The Commission will equally as usual, remain an unbiased umpire in dealing with all political parties in Lagos State.

    “It is imperative to once more enjoin all stakeholders to play strictly by the rules as part of our collective efforts towards ensuring the successful conduct of the general election.

    “It is pertinent to note that the Commission has also taken a bold step in her ongoing efforts to inject technological impetus into the electoral system and has further strengthened the voting process for the conduct of very free, fair, credible and acceptable elections by introducing the Bi-modal Voter Authentication System (BVAS).”

    He said in Lagos State, 640,786 eligible voters had done the online registration before it ended on  May 30, but as at June 20, only 338,955 had completed their registration.

    He said that the commission was making frantic efforts toward ensuring that all eligible citizens were captured before the end of the CVR.

    Speaking, Mr Philip Aivoji, the Chairman, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos State, called on INEC to further decentralise the CVR and PVCs distribution.

    According to him, centralisation of CVR and PVCs can disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

    Aivoji urged INEC to compile and publish list of uncollected PVCs and engage political parties’ leaders in each local government to meet their owners.

    Also, Mr Moshood Mayegun, the Deputy Chairman, APC in Lagos State, said that the party leaders were putting machinery in place to mobilise applicants.

    He advised INEC to engage community associations.

    Mr Ibrahim Adeoye, the State Organising Secretary of Young Progressive Party (YPP), called on INEC to embrace technologies fully in electoral processes, above the use of BVAS only.

    This, he said, would help to curb stress in registration and electoral violence.

    In his remarks, Mr Olusegun Mobolaji, Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), Lagos State, said that INEC needed to do more in decentralisation of CVR and PVCs.

    He pledged that party leaders would work with INEC.

  • Voters cards will not win the 2023 elections – By Owei Lakemfa

    Voters cards will not win the 2023 elections – By Owei Lakemfa

    There is a massive movement led by the youths to register for the 2023 general elections. It is like a battle cry by those who are clearly qualified to vote in the elections rather than the underage and foreigners who are imported to vote.

    The cry is ‘Get your PVC (Permanent Voters Card) and vote’. Even concerts are being organised as part of this unprecedented campaign. But there are parts of the country where this exercise is being disrupted and threats are issued. My position is that those who view the massive registration of voters as a threat, do not intend to allow the votes to count.

    Indeed, we may be dealing with desperate people who have no respect for democratic processes or even basic decency. The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, primaries showed that there are people in leadership positions who have impunity in their DNA. For instance, on the eve of the primaries, the APC Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, staged an unsuccessful coup with the intent of aborting the primaries.

    He announced that after consultations with President Muhammadu Buhari who is also the APC leader, the party had picked Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, as its consensus presidential candidate. Buhari was to deny he had picked a candidate for the party. But is there any truth in Adamu’s claim that he consulted President Buhari before announcing Lawan as the so-called consensus candidate?

    If the party chairman had lied against Buhari, what has been done to punish him? Why would Buhari, a man who lays claims to personal integrity, tolerate a party chairman who used his name to try to con people? Or was it a case that the coup attempt failed and Adamu was left to carry the can?

    However, what was quite clear is that the forces wanting to stop Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu became so desperate that they went for the broke. But it was also clear that Tinubu and his supporters were ready for a fight should the internal democratic process be subverted. That is a major lesson those putting their fate in voters cards should learn; that unless they are ready to fight, the 2023 electoral process can be subverted.

    Whatever the case, the impunity in the whole charade was exposed by the fact that Lawan could not even come third in the primaries. Tinubu, a man the Presidency attacked in the run-up to the primaries for making the truthful claim of having been instrumental to the ascent of Buhari to the Presidency, won the primaries with 1,271 votes, while Lawan had a paltry 152 votes.

    Since Adamu was not punished for his coup attempt, it is not surprising that some days later, he executed another coup by substituting the names of some of the winners in the party’s senatorial primaries with people who did not participate. For instance, Lawan, who failed to understand the basic saying that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, decided not to contest the party’s senatorial primaries for his Yobe North District.

    After failing to foist Lawan on the party as its presidential candidate, the Adamu gang decided to compensate him by submitting his name as a senatorial candidate. It then threatened the actual winner of the senatorial primaries, Bashir Machina, for insisting on his mandate.

    A similar substitution was done for the Ebonyi South Senatorial constituency. The winner of the primaries, Austin Umahi, who conveniently is the brother of Governor Dave Umahi, stepped down and ‘new’ primaries were said to have been conducted which resulted in the governor – who had lost in the APC presidential primaries – emerging as the new senatorial candidate. If in truth Austin Umahi stepped down, then logically, the runner-up in the primaries, Ann Agom-Eze, should have been named as replacement. What is going on are attempts to browbeat Ms Agom-Eze into submission.

    A similar charade played out in the Akwa Ibom North-West District where parallel primaries were held and former Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godwin Akpabio, who had failed in the presidential primaries emerged, pushing retired Deputy Inspector General of Police Udom Ekpoudom out of the race and out of the party.

    Making a person who did not participate in primaries a candidate is like awarding a student distinction in an examination he did not take.

    The APC disease is also ravaging its Siamese Twin, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. For instance, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State who ran for the party’s presidential primaries, did not participate in the gubernatorial primaries which was won by Mr Ibrahim Kashim, who allegedly secured all the 656 votes cast, with one invalid vote. Despite this, the said Kashim stepped down to allow new primaries in which Bala Mohammed emerged as candidate.

    With party primaries and our electoral system being promoted as a criminal enterprise, it is clear to me that the perpetrators will not repent before the 2023 elections. So, getting PVCs is just the first step. Voting at the elections would merely be the second step. Consequent steps and actions are required if the will of the electorate and their sovereignty are to prevail.

    For votes to count, buying and selling of votes must be stopped by voters on ground as reliance on security agents may be a waste of time. Armed thugs, hooligans and urchins must not be allowed free reign; they need to be physically resisted, especially by the electorate on ground. Thumb-printing of ballot papers need to be checked as should the allocation of votes by whichever group, including the electoral officials.

    There are ungoverned spaces in the country where terrorists, bandits and so-called unknown gunmen control, these are areas from which spurious votes can be uploaded on genuine votes; this has to be resisted. Foreigners who pour into the country to vote, and underage voters should also be resisted. If violence is visited on the electorate at whatever level, they need to be mobilised sufficiently to mount counter-violence.

    The judiciary must also know that there would be consequences if they appoint elected officials as was done in the Imo State gubernatorial elections.

    It should not be misconstrued that I advocate violence, but self-defence is legitimate. Voters cards alone, will not win the general elections; what will ensure victory for any party is the mobilisation, determination and capacity of the electorate to, if need be, enforce their choice.

    This was what the electorate did in the 1983 gubernatorial elections in Ondo State when those who rigged the elections and were declared winners fled to Lagos with the voters in hot pursuit. They refused to return and claim their ‘victory’; so the real winners, led by the peaceful Pa Adekunle Ajasin, had to be sworn into office.

  • INEC Chairman says voters registration will be extended

    INEC Chairman says voters registration will be extended

    Prof Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise would be extended.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Prof Yakubu made this known on Saturday, stressing that the CVR exercise will not end on June 30th.

    Yakubu said this at the YouthVoteCount2 concert that was held at the Old Parade Ground in Abuja.

    “The second thing you want to know is when will this registration end? Is it going to end on the 30th of June, in the next five days?

    “On behalf of INEC, let me assure you, e no go end for 30th June for as long as we have you people trying to register to obtain your PVC, we will continue to register you and we will continue to make sure that you get your PVC,” Yakubu said.

    Meanwhile, a court had during the week stopped INEC from ending the registration exercise.

  • INEC agrees to 60 Days extension of voters registration

    Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Aishatu Jibril Dukku, has disclosed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has agreed to 60 days extension of the ongoing continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise initially slated to end at the end of June, 2022.

    He stated this while briefing fellow lawmakers on the committee’s efforts to ensure the implementation of a House resolution reached last week.

    “The Committee held a meeting with INEC yesterday (Tuesday) and they agreed to extend the CVR, all our resolutions were approved,” she told members of the House at plenary on Wednesday.

    The House of Representatives had last Wednesday urged INEC to extend the deadline for the continuous voter registration by an extra 60 days from June 30, 2022, to enable more Nigerians to register.

    The House also called on the Commission to deploy additional staff and voter registration machines across the country to meet the objective.

    The chairman, House Committee on media and publicity, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, through a motion, had noted that the ongoing CVR by INEC was scheduled to end on June 30 ahead of the 2023 general elections.