April 3, 2018

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday commenced the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) for the second quarter of 2018 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise commenced at the Karu centre at about 11 a.m. in spite of the presence of many people eager to be registered.

People had gathered at the centre as early as 8 a.m. waiting to be registered but neither INEC officials nor the machines for the exercise, was available.

Mrs Ndidi Okafor, Head, Voter Education and Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Liaison of INEC in the FCT, attributed the delay in the commencement of the exercise to “logistics issues’’.

She appealed to people willing to register to be patient, assuring that it would be fast-tracked to accommodate all qualified persons.

Okafor explained that the quarterly registration was in line with the directive from INEC headquarters.

One of the people waiting to register, Mr Titus Paul, urged INEC to improve on its arrangement for the exercise.

“You see, we are in the sun, some people who are not healthy enough may have their situation aggravated; government should be fair in dealing with its citizens.

“A place like this should be conducive so that even though the process has not started, people will be comfortable while they wait,’’ he said.

The first quarter of the nationwide CVR commenced on Jan. 8 and ended on March 22.