The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, has deployed more equipment and manpower for the ongoing continuous voters registration exercise across the country
The commission in a statement issued on Friday and signed by the Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Festus Okoye, says this is in response to reports from States indicating an unprecedented surge in the number of citizens that wish to register as voters and the challenges they face across the country.
The decision was taken after a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners. “The necessity to urgently deploy more voter enrolment machines to ease the congestion at the registration centres was identified as a priority”.
The statement says “The Commission has immediately released additional 209 machines deployed mainly to the five South Eastern States, Lagos and Kano where the pressure is most acute”
INEC says it will monitor the situation over the next few days and meet to review progress to ensure that every eligible Nigerian has the opportunity to register as a voter
Amid the complains of delays and general poor service delivery at registration centres, INEC is begging for patience to enable it address the complaints.
“The sudden surge is an affirmation of the increasing confidence Nigerians have in our electoral process. The Commission will
continue to ensure that this confidence is sustained”
Editor Paul Akhagbemhe
