CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION COMMENCES TODAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY

The Continuous voter registration commences today across the seven hundred and seventy-four local governments of the federation. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the exercise will take place from nine o’clock in the morning to three o’clock in the afternoon on weekdays at all the Local Government Headquarters.

However, stakeholders from Enugu State have called for the decentralization of the continuous voterregistration  at the ward level to enhance people’s participation. They made the call during a sensitization meeting organised at Agbani for the people of Nkanu  West Local Government Area.

The venue of the stakeholders’ forum was filled with traditional rulers, Market Women, leaders of Town Unions, religious bodies and civil servants.

Most of them who spoke at the meeting condemned the plan by INEC to conduct the voter resigtration at the council headquarters only, noting that it would be difficult for those that would register to meet up with the challenges of distance.

The Traditional Ruler of EziaguAgbani, Igwe Sampson Nnamani and two other Leaders of thought, Mr. Bartholomew Ede and Mr. Fidelis Nnamchi expressed the fear that the exercise  would be futile if it was not decentralized to ward level.

The stakeholders maintained that voter registration was a fundamental aspect of election in a democratic setting and called on political office holders from the South East to mobilize  and sensitize their people to the importance of the exercise. The Chairman, Nkanu West Local Government Area, MrAfamOkereke who also appealed to INCE to consider the location of the exercise advised his people to come out en-masse for the registration.

INEC Electoral Officer, Nkanu West Local Government Area, Mrs. Chika Osuji while encouraging the people to participate in the exercise, promised to take the complaints back to the commission for possible solution. Mrs. Osijiremined people that the exercise would be held on week days apart from public holidays.

OBINNA OGBUKA