INEC Records Massive Turnout For Voter Registration In Anambra

Independent National Electoral Commission, INE, has re-opened its four local government offices in Anambra State, it closed down earlier due to the wave of insecurity ravaging the state.

The commission’s public relations officer of the commission in Anambra State, Mr. Reginald Onyeukwu, who disclosed this to LEADERSHIP yesterday said the re-opening of the commission’s local government offices which were Ayamelum, Nnewi-South, Idemili-North and Ogbaru local government INEC offices was to enable it attend to the massive turn-out of eligible voters in the state in the ongoing CVR exercise.

He said the commission and the security agencies had made adequate arrangement to ensure adequate security in the affected local government areas, and, indeed, at the various centres the CVR exercise are taking place in the state.

Onyeukwu stated that the commission in the state had been correcting an erroneous impression among registered voters in the state  who besieged the CVR centres demanding for renewal of their voter’s cards claiming that they were told that voter’s cards obtained in 2011 were no longer valid, and, that all those who possessed them should go to renew them.

He stated that the impression was wrong explaining that those who were expected to participate in the ongoing CVR exercises are people within the following three categories: “those who have not registered before and now want to register and obtain PVC; those who lost their PVC and want obtain replacement card, and, those seeking to transfer their voting point/centre”.

The INEC spokesman person made it clear that “no PVC obtained earlier, including those obtained during the 2011 voter’s registration exercise has expired.”

Meanwhile, when LEADERSHIP arrived at the state headquarters of the INEC in Awka at about 2.30pm yesterday hundreds of eligible voters were seen at the centre of the CVR exercise within the premises waiting to be attended to.

Some of them complained that the exercise was not moving fast.

Mr. Titus Nwankwo said he came to seek a transfer of his voting point from Enugu State to Anambra State, but, complained that he came at about 10am and as 2.30pm he had not been attended to.

He stated that he might not be able to come back after spending the whole day explaining, “I am a carpenter, so as a labourer, I depend on whatever I can get in a day to feed my family. I have six children, plus my wife and myself.”

Also, Blessing Chioma and Igbonekwu Uchechi complained that they arrived at about 12noon and discovered that about 300 persons had been given numbers to be attended to, and, that they were told by the INEC official those they would be given their own number to join the queue after attending to those who had already been issued numbers.