L
LequteMan
Guest
The Chairman, All Progressives Congress ( #APC ) in #Enugu, Dr Ben Nwoye, has advised #INEC to be non-partisan in the distribution of permanent voter cards in the state.
Nwoye made the call at a stakeholders’ forum on the exercise organised by the electoral body in Enugu on Thursday.
"The APC was not invited for this meeting and this is undemocratic because all opposition parties are to be carried along.
``What is happening is not a reflection of a democratic process but a meeting between INEC and the ruling party and I happened to gate-crash.
``I was coming in from a long journey when a concerned citizen called me and said there was a rumour that there might be a meeting between INEC, political parties and other stakeholders.
``I made a call to a staff of INEC who confirmed that there was indeed a meeting of this nature,” he said.
Nwoye, who is also the state Chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), said that the gathering was ``skewed to favour the ruling party in the state’’.
``Our people are not here, the market women, students, Okada riders and other stakeholders are not here,” he said.
On the three days allotted for the distribution of the permanent voter card, Nwoye said that the timeline was grossly inadequate.
``We know that the last time they did registration of voters it took them over one week to put their computer on and another one week to buy fuel.
``Now that the permanent voter cards have been manufactured after over three years, you want to distribute them in three days.
``Between the last voters’ registration and now, millions of Nigerians have turned 18 years. Yet they also want to use five days to register such people.
Nwoye said that residents of the state must not be disenfranchised for whatever reason.
Reacting, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Lawrence Azubuike, said that all opposition parties were invited for the meeting.
Azubuike said INEC would be fair to all stakeholders in all cases, adding only those that were non-partisan would be engaged to distribute the cards and to register prospective voters.
He said that the distribution of the permanent voter card would take place between May 23 and May 25.
He added that the continuous voter registration would take place between May 28 and June 1, 2014.
Nwoye made the call at a stakeholders’ forum on the exercise organised by the electoral body in Enugu on Thursday.
"The APC was not invited for this meeting and this is undemocratic because all opposition parties are to be carried along.
``What is happening is not a reflection of a democratic process but a meeting between INEC and the ruling party and I happened to gate-crash.
``I was coming in from a long journey when a concerned citizen called me and said there was a rumour that there might be a meeting between INEC, political parties and other stakeholders.
``I made a call to a staff of INEC who confirmed that there was indeed a meeting of this nature,” he said.
Nwoye, who is also the state Chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), said that the gathering was ``skewed to favour the ruling party in the state’’.
``Our people are not here, the market women, students, Okada riders and other stakeholders are not here,” he said.
On the three days allotted for the distribution of the permanent voter card, Nwoye said that the timeline was grossly inadequate.
``We know that the last time they did registration of voters it took them over one week to put their computer on and another one week to buy fuel.
``Now that the permanent voter cards have been manufactured after over three years, you want to distribute them in three days.
``Between the last voters’ registration and now, millions of Nigerians have turned 18 years. Yet they also want to use five days to register such people.
Nwoye said that residents of the state must not be disenfranchised for whatever reason.
Reacting, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Lawrence Azubuike, said that all opposition parties were invited for the meeting.
Azubuike said INEC would be fair to all stakeholders in all cases, adding only those that were non-partisan would be engaged to distribute the cards and to register prospective voters.
He said that the distribution of the permanent voter card would take place between May 23 and May 25.
He added that the continuous voter registration would take place between May 28 and June 1, 2014.
