AGAINST high expec
tations that trailed the
massive public enlightenment
for residents of Lagos
and Ogun States to collect
their Permanent Voter
Cards, PVCs, the collection
turned into a near flop in
the two states at the commencement
of the three
day exercise.
A frustrated Governor Babatunde
Fashola was forced
to go on public television
yesterday to comfort Lagos
citizens who he said were
extremely disappointed by
what he described as a
mess.
The exercise which was
scheduled to take place in
11 of the 20 recognised local
government areas of the
state either did not take
place at all or took off hours
behind schedule after many
expectant registrants had
departed. The Lagos State
office of the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
INEC in a face saving
measure was forced to extend
the collection exercise
scheduled to end tomorrow
to Monday.
The same tale of disappointment
also shadowed
the exercise in Ogun State,
the other state where the
distribution of the PVCs
commenced in the country
yesterday. Though the situation
in Ogun looked relatively
better than that in Lagos,
there were also loud
complaints from voters especially
in communities
neighbouring Lagos including
Arepo where voters
claimed that they waited
endlessly for the officials of
the commission. In many
polling units where the officials
were present they,
however, lacked logistical
materials to carry out the
exercise.
The PVCs being distributed
are to replace the temporary
voter cards given to voters
at the point of registration
in 2011.
The distribution of the
PVCs in Lagos State was
scheduled in Agege, Ajeromi-
Ifelodun, Ifako-Ijaiye,
Ikeja, Mushin, Lagos Island,
Lagos Mainland,
Ibeju-Lekki, Ikorodu, Kosofe;
and Ojo Local Government.
Thousands of residents
who trooped to their various
polling units very early in the
morning waited for INEC officials
for over six hours without
any trace of officials to distribute
the PVCs. Many
went back to their respective
homes in disappointment.
The exercise, which was
supposed to start by 8.00 a.m.
did not start till about 3.30pm
as polling units visited witnessed
several frustrated
residents waiting for INEC
officials who were nowhere
to be found.
Among the polling units
visited in the Ikeja area were
Awolowo Way, Sunday Adigun
Street where former
Governor Bola Tinubu is registered,
Polling Unit 008,
Alausa among others. Everywhere,
voters were seen
in clusters either waiting for
the INEC officials or for the
materials or in some cases
for both.
Mr. Adewale Fasade, who
was sighted at a Polling Unit
in Ward C, Ikeja said he first
went to his polling unit at
Oregun and after waiting for
hours without any sign of
the INEC officials relocated
to Ward C, Alausa on being
told that some INEC officials
were there.
An All Progressives Congress
(APC) chieftain, Wale
Ogundimu, who was at
Ward ‘C’ said he mobilised
several members to come out
as early as 8:30am to collect
their PVCs, but lamented
that they had been waiting
for INEC for the past six
hours lamenting that the officials
were nowhere to be
seen by mid afternoon.
The same story prevailed
in most areas of Ojo Local
Government Area and even
at the polling unit by the
council secretariat on Olojo
Drive.
Mr. Afolabi Timothy, a resident,
lamented that the officials
made him wait endlessly,
saying “if they knew
they were not ready why
would they include our
council among those whose
PVCs were ready.”
“You can see, I am yet to
know my fate. I woke early
today and I got here by 7:00
am; waiting for the officials.
At the moment they are yet
to arrive. In fact, the names
are yet to be pasted. I don’t
know if my name was
among the 4.8 million residents
who will collect their
PVC.
“I am beginning to doubt
the credibility of next year’s
election.”
Another resident, Mrs.
Tina James said “If I knew
they would not come, I
would have travelled for my
business trip. But now, I
don’t know what to do.
“After waiting here for over
three hours, I went to the
Ojo local government secretariat
to see if they were
already distributing the materials
to the officials, I mean
the Youth Corpers but to my
surprise, I saw them also
waiting for the materials,”
she said.
Fashola broadcast
statement
Reacting to the development
yesterday, Governor
Fashola who had proclaimed
a public holiday for
state workers because of the
exercise faulted the excuse
of INEC in blaming contractors
for the floppiness as inexcusable
Fashola, in a broadcast on
the state’s television, LTV
urged all registered residents
of the eleven Local
Governments where INEC
commenced distribution of
PVCs yesterday, to go and
collect their cards to prevent
themselves from being disenfranchised.
He said by omission or
commission, INEC had decided
to make the exercise
a painful experience in Lagos
by announcing that it
would only issue PVCS in
11 Local Governments out
of the 20 old initially scheduled
by the commission.
Fashola expressed deep
disappointment at what he
described as the lack of planning
which he said spoke
volumes of the contempt and
disregard of INEC for the
rights of citizens, recalling
that it was INEC that first
announced that the exercise
was planned for August, and
later shifted it to September,
before finally announcing a
take off for yesterday.
The governor stated: “I can
only imagine the level of disappointment
that you must all
feel, having waited anxiously
for this exercise and in
spite of the fact that we had
declared a work free day.
“As far as this further messy
conduct is concerned, its
lame excuse is that nine contractors
disappointed it. Who
are the contractors? Are they
faceless? I think Nigerians
deserve to know who they
are. The information at my
disposal is that all the cards
are in Lagos and INEC must
explain why it had decided
not to distribute all of them”.
“If this is a foretaste of what
we should expect in the general
elections, for me it is a
bad start. It tastes awful but
do not be disappointed as not
to partake in the all important
interest of keeping the
country’s democracy.”
He reiterated that INEC has
not answered the question he
posed about the delisting of
over 1,400,000 voters from the
register it compiled in 2011
in spite of assurances it gave
Nigerians, and billions of
naira it expended for the purpose.
INEC’s REC reacts
The Lagos State Resident
Electoral Commissioner
(REC), Dr Adekunle Ogunmola,
in his reaction to the
development said the exercise
would be extended to
compensate for the initial hiccups.
Dr Ogunmola told Saturday
Vanguard that “Yes we
had some delays to the kick
off because some documents
we were expecting from
Abuja did not arrive early but
we have gotten it. Our staff
went to their respective locations
to work and because of
this delay, we have extended
the closure of work from
4pm to 5pm every day.”
“We will extend the closing
time to 5pm and extend it by
another day (till Monday,
November 10th.)”
Complaints trail PVC
distribution in Ogun
Complaints of absent officials,
shortage of logistics
materials and missing
names marred the exercise
in most parts of Ogun State
as the collection of the
PVCs commenced in the
state yesterday.
The state governor, Senator
Ibikunle Amosun and
his wife, Olufunso, were,
however, among the few
who had few complaints as
they collected their cards
easily at Ajura ward 4. The
former governor of the state,
Aremo Segun Osoba, however,
could not find his card
at the Ago Oba Central
Mosque in Ward 13,
Abeokuta South local government,
where he was supposed
to pick up his card
even though he found his
name on the roll.
He was, however, directed
to the INEC office as he was
told that he was among special
dignitaries who the commission
had made special arrangements
for to collect their
cards from the office. In Arepo,
a sub-urban community
near Lagos, residents waited
endlessly for the officials to
come. Oneresidentwhospoke
toSaturdayVanguardoverthe
telephone slammed the commission
for the poor conduct
of the exercise saying that it
was lamentation of woe all
around the community.
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