By Cosmas Omegoh, Olakunle Olafioye (Lagos), Gyang Bere (Jos), Paul Osuyi (Asaba) and John Adams (Minna)
The curtain fell on July 31, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) finally stopped the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The electoral body said it would not entertain further extension of the exercise after it had done so severally in the past.
Thus, INEC called the bluff of a coalition of over 70 CSOs that requested further extension of the exercise by additional two months.
The electoral umpire maintained its stance even when it is believed that a half of Nigeria’s eligible voting population is yet to be registered.
Many who could not do so have been lamenting their fate, and giving reasons they could not do so despite the lengthy time given to them to register to be part of the 2003 general elections.
Lagos: INEC staff, thugs, politicians frustrate registrants
In Lagos State, for instance, Mrs Ibironke Owolabi is one of the many who could not take part in the CVR exercise.
Betraying her emotions, she narrated how she was frustrated at a designated centre close to her in the Alagbado area.
She said that she had received news a week earlier that INEC personnel were coming to the area for the registration exercise, and had to visit the venue.
“I made the first call to the venue at about few minutes to 8 O’clock, but I was told they (INEC staff) were yet to arrive. Again about an hour later, I called one of our church members who owns a shop close to the place, and I was equally told they were yet to arrive.”
She said that some moments later, the lady called back to inform her that they had come; so she went straight to the place and met about 20 persons already waiting.
“Shockingly, however, I was given serial number 143. When I inquired why it was so, I was told that some people who came earlier were given numbers. But I made them to realise that I was there over an hour earlier and saw nobody issuing any numbers to people. Then every one of them went mute.”
Mrs Owolabi said that she then returned home, but went back to the centre at intervals to check if it was getting to her turn, but she kept getting discouraging outcomes.
“At first, I went there about noon only to discover that they had only registered less than 40 people. Again I returned at half past 2:00p.m, they were yet to register up to 70. When I got there at about 3:30p.m, it was yet my turn. I remained there until they closed without being captured,” she lamented.
Mrs Owolabi accused local politicians in the area of deliberately frustrating people who they suspected were not supporting their party from getting registered.
A resident of Ijeshatedo who identified himself as Martin recalled that he was at the controversial centre at St Brigid Catholic Church in the area where thugs allegedly carted away the registration machine.
“We had news that INEC officials were coming for the capture exercise at the church on the said day and, therefore, went there and met well over 500 persons.
“About the time, the thugs stormed the venue, barely a handful of persons were captured before they disrupted the exercise. They forcefully collected the machine and hijacked the INEC staff to another location.
“The majority of those who followed them were chased away and prevented from registering.
“We later learnt that the thugs were sent by politicians in the area to pick up the machine and register those they were sure would vote for them.
“The narrative that the centre was an illegal one was false. Where were the details of the people they captured going into? Surely INEC’s database?
“Those of us who felt it was not worth the trouble chasing the thugs did not bother to do that. That was how I missed being captured,’ he lamented.
Another resident of the area, Mrs Regina Iwu, also lamented how she had barely settled down at the church centre before the pandemonium erupted.
“I had to run for my dear life. Earlier, I heard of a centre within Ijesha, but I was discouraged when we heard that non-natives were being frustrated from registering,” she said.
A man in Lagos, Anayo Ejike, who could not complete the online capture, was unhappy that the exercise went awry for him.
“Each time I got to the point of uploading my picture, the system always asked me to smile. I smiled many times over, yet the registration was aborted,” he said.
Ogun: Machines malfunctioned
It was the same tale of frustration in Atan, Ota area of Ogun State where many intending registrants were allegedly denied the opportunity of getting their PVCs.
The only machine deployed for the exercise was said to have malfunctioned, thus compelling many people to abandon the centre without being captured.
Mr Abiona Ishola, a resident of the area who claimed he could not be registered before the end of the exercise said that the slow pace of the exercise frustrated him.
“Many people who gathered at the registration venue as early as 7:30a.m had to leave because the process was taking too slow.
“Sometimes it took up to 20 minutes to register just one person; those in charge kept complaining that the machine was not functioning properly. Initially, many were willing to endure the situation until we started hearing that they might not register more than 100 people.
“A lot of us who felt that it might not get to our turn left the scene. At the end of the day, I was told they did not even register close to a 100 people,” Ishola stated.
Plateau: Residents angry over INEC deadline
Plateau residents who are yet to register for their Permanent Voter’s Card are still expressing angry and pain.
When our correspondent visited some INEC registration centres as the exercise inched to a close many residents were seen seething in long queues begging INEC officials to attend to them.
Those who were certain they would not be captured felt frustrated as they waited patiently, hoping that the miraculous would happen.
Many of the intending registrants, it was gathered, had been visiting the centres more than two weeks before the deadline.
Tabitha Markus who spoke at the INEC office said that she was determined to vote in the 2023 elections, but she could not register until the deadline arrived.
She lamented that she had been visiting the INEC office over the past one week without luck as there were always thousands of people queuing for the same purpose.
“I wish I would be able to register to get my PVC and participate in the next election.
“I just turned 18 years recently; I wish to vote particularly in the presidential election. I wish I could cast my vote. I pray that INEC will extend the deadline for the registration,” she said.
Bitrus Emmanuel shared the same frustration, recalling how he was next on the queue to be attended to when the INEC officials insisted they had closed for the day.
He is pained that he was not able to register to get his PVC.
“I am willing and determined to participate in the 2023 general elections; I want to cast my vote because I know it will count.
“INEC should temper justice with mercy by extending the deadline for the registration.”
Mercy Pam claimed that she went through hell before she could register for her PVC, recalling that it took her more than one month to be registered.
“I was lucky to have been registered today, but I went through heel.
“I had kept going to the registration centre for about one month. At some point, I became like one of the INEC staff because of my frequency at the venue; but thank God I finally had the opportunity to be captured,” he stated.
Delta: It’s tale of frustrations too
The CVR exercise is over in Delta State, but not without some drama laced with frustrations.
Some registrants in Asaba, Delta State capital, said that they had to brave the odds before they could be registered to vote in the 2023 elections.
One of the respondents, Damian Obialu who claimed he registered at Oshimili South Local Government Area, said that he was frustrated several times due to the slow pace of the exercise.
“I was at Oshimili South several times, but each time I go there, the system appeared to be appalling to me; everything about the exercise was too slow. I took too long before one individual could be registered.
“Most of the time, the INEC staff were seen working with just one machine. So each time I got there, I always met huge crowds; they had one excuse or the other to give.
“On one occasion, I was the 50th person on the queue. Then before I knew what was going on, they stopped work after attending to the 40th person. I had to go home and come back the next day.
“I am happy I was able to register due to my determination. I was determined to be part of those who will usher in the needed change Nigeria needs now by voting credible, trusted persons in 2023,” Obialu said.
Another respondent, Wilfred Sylvester, said that he also got frustrated at some point and contemplated abandoning the exercise, adding that he was only driven by his patriotic zeal to change his mind and register so as change the narrative in 2023.
Sylvester narrated how he and some other youths foiled an attempt by officials of INEC to move the machines out of Oshimili South to an unknown destination.
“When it became very difficult for us to register, we vowed that we must do so.
“Crowds of enthusiastic registrants kept growing by the day, yet the number of machines deployed was simply inadequate.
“Sometimes, we went to the centre at 6:00a.m, yet we met a long queue of people waiting for the exercise that would start at 9:00a.m. Often we spent almost the whole day at the centre and still went home without being captured.
“So, it was really a frustrating experience, but I am happy now that I registered before the close of the exercise,” he said.
A female prospective voter, Helen Amaka who updated her information on the register, claimed that she was turned back at Oshimili South after spending a whole day at the registration centre.
Amaka recalled how she went to INEC head office where she met crowds of people waiting to register.
“I waited for long before they told me that they weren’t doing update, that they were only capturing fresh registrants.
“They asked me to visit the INEC website. I did, but I could not make progress, until somebody directed me to a man who was making brisk business by collecting N1,000 for the service. That was how I was able carry out my update,” she said.
Similarly, Mrs Joy Nwanaza also went through various stages of frustration yet she could not get captured.
Her case was even more frustrating because she said she was pregnant during the period.
But unlike the previous three, she was unable to get registered when the machine was temporarily deployed
According to her, on three occasions she could not stand the crowd at registration centre in her area, Okwe.
“Each time I went there, the crowd always discouraged me. I just could not stand it because of my condition at that time.
“After I later put to bed, I had to nurture and take care of my baby. So, there was no more time for me to be registered,” she said.
Niger: Negligence, insecurity keep people away
The CVR exercise was a success in Niger State, our correspondent reports. However, the fact that some people refused to go for the exercise until the last minute and the flame of insecurity in the state were major hindrances.
At the close of the exercise on Sunday, July 31, a total of 335,854 people: 177,112 males and 159,316 females were said to have been captured across the 25 local government areas of the state.
This brings the total number of registered voters in the state between 2019 and now to 2,725, 889.
However, there were pockets of complaints registered by the persons encountered.
Josephine Onah, a fashion designer in Tunga area of Minna, said that she could not be captured because she only approached the INEC office in Tunga, a week to the close of the registration exercise. She added that she only had to do so because the PVC was increasingly becoming a requirement for almost everything she did.
“I was not captured because I think I started the process quite late.
“Initially, I never wanted to be a part of the exercise because I had never voted before simply because our votes never counted.
“Ask those who had been voting in the past, their votes never counted; the politicians always did what they wanted to do. The person they wanted still won.
“But this time, I had to attempt getting the card because it had become a requirement for anything I wanted to do: in my church and association meetings, among other places.
“Unfortunately, I could not get to be registered because right from when I started going to (INEC), they always told me that their machine was having problems. That was the story I kept hearing until they finally told us that the exercise had closed,” she said.
On his part, Mallam Sani Abdullahi from Sarkin Pawa, lamented the stress he and some other people from the area had to go through to get captured before the close of the registration exercise.
Mallam Abdulahi informed that they had to travel to Minna, the state capital, due to the security challenges in their area.
He said that there was no PVC registration centre in Sarkin Pawa because of the activities of the bandits operating in the area.
“We came all the way from Sarkin Pawa because there was no centre there as a result of the security situation we are experiencing. It took three days before we were successful; it was not an easy task,” he said.