The
names of the number one citizen of Lagos state, Governor Babatunde
Fashola and that of his wife, Abimbola and all residents who registered
at the governor’s polling unit were missing on the register of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and could not collect
their Permanent Voters Card, PVC. The governor, who after
arriving at his Ward G3, polling Unit E002, State Junior Secondary
School, Surulere, where he had registered with his wife, Dame Abimbola
in 2010, did not sight any INEC official at the scene at about 2:00 p.m.
The governor, after waiting at the scene for a long time sighted a
notice pasted on the entrance of the school, advising residents who had
registered at the polling unit to revisit the unit next month for
another registration exercise.
The notice placed at the gate
notified that all those who registered at the polling unit, including
Fashola and his wife would not get their PVCs as there was no provision
for such.
“We regret to inform you that those who registered in
this polling unit do not have permanent voters’ cards. Please come back
between 3rd and 8th December 2014 for fresh registration,” the notice
informed.
Fashola however reacted angrily to the fact that his
name was missing on INEC’s database, thus denying him and others from
collecting their PVCs, saying the umpire body represented the biggest
threat to the nation’s democracy.
“We have seen that INEC is
the biggest threat to our democracy. They set date for the distribution
of PVC, the state mobilised its residents for the exercise. We put all
machinery in place only for the electoral body to change the date of the
exercise. They said that the distribution and registration of voters
would be done in 11 councils and not the 20 local governments.
“While the 11 had been handled in an unsatisfactory way, now the
exercises in nine local governments are not ready. If I the governor of
the state cannot vote, it shows what the electoral body had done. They
came in the midnight and said that we should all come back and register
on 3rd December 3rd, 2014. We registered and voted in that place. And
there are evidences to show that,” he decried.
According to
Fashola, “now, there are questions that must be answered by INEC; was
the PVC for those units which they have cancelled printed? And if yes,
who have they given them to?”
He said one could not wipe datas
gathered like that, saying he wanted INEC to know that he still had his
temporary voter’s card and that he expected all those who still had
theirs to keep them, adding that “INEC registered us and they cannot
deregister us because we are still alive.”
He said if the electoral body could not provide the PVC, it must allow those who had the temporary cards to vote.
“It is disgraceful to say the least. This shows how we organise the
affairs of this country. Everything that had happened under Jega’s
tenure, it has been characterised by mistakes from his very first
election. Promises have been made and broken. It is a disappointment.
We will participate in the election whether they like it or not. I feel
sad when I visited India and I saw how the country was organising
elections for population more than ours without hitches,” he said.
COMMENTS
Ogunleye Adesoye and Bussy Duro like this.
Olanrewaju Titiloye
Even the so call LASSRA, have register online just to do biometric capture at Ogudu council, so many instance as follows:
1) Instances where there is no backup battery
2) Advice to take attendance after some minute rejected by Lassra officer
3) Instances where some candidates was called into the inner office for registration.
4) Abusive word by LASSRA officers
And many more
1) Instances where there is no backup battery
2) Advice to take attendance after some minute rejected by Lassra officer
3) Instances where some candidates was called into the inner office for registration.
4) Abusive word by LASSRA officers
And many more