Nigeria : A Troubled Voters Registration and The Emergence of the Peoples Representatives in 2019
- By solomon2day
- On 18/08/2018
The ongoing voters registration exercise has been extended to 31 August, 2018 by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).
Even though it is being trailed by series of complaints,disappointments and frustrations from eligible voters, who are bonafide Nigerians.
Indeed, the story remains the same nationwide.
In Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Oyo, Osun Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Imo states, INEC staff have continuously engaged in various malpractices-deliberate hoarding of registration materials and collusion with a favoured political party's officials, to sabotage the process.
A sizable number of Nigerians, who reported at the registration centres in different parts of the country, some as early as 4.00 AM in the early hours of the day, were either left unattended to or were given numbers on some sheets of papers and requested to check later in the day.
This is despite the fact, that several worried Nigerians opted to sleep at the centres.
Interestingly, the feeling is that an unspecified number of centres have been deliberate denied of materials by the political class, who aspire to use same for purposes still unknown.
Of great worry, is the the double registration syndrome which is already the trend all over the country and the obsessive participation of under aged children believed to have been sponsored by politicians and their agents in the registration exercise.
Although the INEC headquarters in Abuja has disclosed that it is making efforts to address the shortcomings, public apathy, apprehensions and misgivings trailing the exercise, it still insists that eligible voters have the opportunity of exercising their civic responsibilities.
A well informed source at the headquarters of the electoral body reveals that ''some evil and criminal minded politicians are conniving with our staff, to undermine the voters registration and mastermind the registration of under aged voters''.
''I wish to assure that no multiple registration will go unnoticed. INEC possesses the technology to detect illegalities'', the source hinted.
Without doubt, Nigerians are looking forward to free and fair elections in 2019, devoid of illegalities from the point of voters registration to the very day of the elections.
Unarguably, Illegalities are ,obstacles to a transparent emergence of the true representatives of the people. Debatable ?
