From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The cheerful decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the deadline for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) until further notice, perfectly provided succour to many Nigerians and ultimately rested the controversies trailing the exercise.
Usually, the electoral umpire organises such exercise periodically to accommodate those that clocked the voting age of 18 years; make provisions for those who have relocated and would want to transfer their voting centres and those, who for one reason or the other, have lost their voters’ cards and need to be reissued with new ones.
Yes, the commission may have commenced the exercise over a year ago ahead of the 2023 general elections, but the spike in interest was unprecedented. The commission began the CVR in June last year, but many Nigerians did not show interest until a few months ago.
The upsurge had mounted serious pressure on the personnel and materials the commission deployed and resulted in all manner of allegations against some officers of the agency as well as against some politicians and political parties.
Hours on end were spent at various capturing centres. Some registrants even spent the whole night just to beat the initial June 30 INEC’s deadline. Tempers had flared so high, especially from Nigerians determined to resist any attempt to stop them from securing their PVCs and ultimately disenfranchise them from voting in the 2023 polls. Litigations were equally instituted and judgement against the stoppage of the exercise was procured.
The youths stood resolute in actualising the much-touted planned revolutions though the PVC, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other major and minor electoral stakeholders mounted vigorous campaigns against what they considered an obnoxious, anti-masses movement.
To underscore the gravity and intensity of their determination, the youths organised various enlightenment campaign programmes in most cities across the country to mobilise the youths and elderly to register. It was an intriguing orchestrated plan to mobilise eligible voters to key into the campaign like never before.
From the controversial statutory June 30 deadline, to the upsurge across the country, awareness, willingness and desperation on the part of the Nigerian youths and other voting segments, the attention to mobilise eligible voters to register were scaled up to a disturbing level.
Interestingly, the new registrants were not deterred by the multiple challenges that bogged the exercise. The new registrants weathered every obstacle, ranging from the insufficient and sometimes malfunctioning registration machines, physical attacks, hostilities and even killings of the already understaffed commission’s personnel.
They also resisted other crippling and discouraging logistical challenges that equally conspired to pose other endemic threats encountered during the registration exercise. For many eligible electorate, it was a campaign to make a bold statement of now or never; it was a declaration of operation get your PVCs or watch the country sink deeper into economic and political woes after the 2023 general elections.
The situation is the same across the country. From Borno State to Benue, Anambra to Adamawa, Osun, Ogun, Ondo to Sokoto, Zamfara to Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta and even Katsina, INEC staff had struggled to cope with the upsurge of desperate and willing Nigerians determined to vote in the 2023 general elections.
The desperation and determination had resulted in several casualties of INEC personnel and new registrants in some states. In Imo and other parts of the country, for instance, lives were lost, and the blood of the innocents were spilled. It was disturbing that the commission had to either shut down the registration centres where security could not be guaranteed or totally relocate the registration centre to safer places.
Many factors may account for the surge. For many political watchers, it may be directly linked with the calibre of persons that emerged candidates of various political parties after the presidential primaries and the iron-clad resolution of an average Nigerian eligible voter to stake a claim on who becomes the next president of the country.
Opinion varies over the upsurge in youths’ participation; some people believe it was a sign of political awakening and that the youth were determined to take back their country.
Some of them were in agreement that some of the reasons for the new wave of interest in registration to obtain PVCs may not be unconnected with the touted referendum on the current administration, the entrance of Peter Obi, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, into the race, the decision by Nigerians to have a break with the two major political parties, and the quest by young Nigerians to be more involved in the nation’s political process.
For others, the upsurge in the interest to obtain PVCs was a positive response to the signing of the new Electoral Amendment Act, which legalised INEC’s deployment of technologies like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) among others, capable of scaling up the credibility of elections in the country.
Did the surge come to the commission as a surprise? The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Yahaya Bello, told Daily Sun that; “it did and did not come as surprise. We initially thought that it was the usual Nigerian behaviour of leaving things till the eleventh hour before we suddenly realised that it was not so.
“I think the upsurge could be attributed to a combination of many things. As an INEC official, I want to presume and assume that elections conducted by the commission are getting better, more transparent, and more credible. The INEC chairman has promised the country that the vote of the electorate will count. The truth is that the message which did not take root since has sunk in the minds of Nigerians now.
“I want to also think that the consciousness of Nigerians is aroused now than ever. There is renewed enthusiasm and vigour to participate in the electoral process in the country including voting. You ask if the surge could be because of the calibre of the presidential candidates that emerged, but that does not concern me as an INEC official. My responsibility is to ensure that we conduct credible and acceptable elections,” Bello said.
To tackle the teething challenges bugging the registration exercise and cushion the harrowing hardship many new registrants were going through, the commission had deployed more personnel and machines to several areas.
The commission did not stop there. They continued to update Nigerians on the breakdown of current registration statistics on a weekly and bi-weekly basis. Expectedly, the analysis showed that the youths, looking more like embarking on generational revolutionary mission to wrest and recapture their rightful inheritance, have continued to lead the statistics chat with an intimidating figure that ran into millions of new registrants.
Initially, the commission’s posture to stick to last month, June 30 deadline, was interpreted, misinterpreted and misconstrued as an anti-people policy, deliberately orchestrated to disenfranchise the willing electorate and perhaps predetermine the outcome of the 2023 election.
Announcing the extension of the deadline, the commission said that the registration will continue nationwide pending further directives. “The CVR will continue nationwide. All the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and Electoral Officers have been directed to continue with the exercise pending further directives from the commission.
“The commission has consistently reiterated its resolve to continue to provide electoral services to the Nigerian people and register all eligible Nigerians that are interested in registering. We have yet again deployed additional machines to areas of pressure and will continue to serve the people of Nigeria.
“Furthermore, the case at the Federal High Court relating to the terminal date of the CVR came up within the week, and based on the request of the commission, the Court granted an accelerated hearing and adjourned the matter for hearing of the substantive matter. The commission will give an update after the court hearing,” the chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, said.
Narrating his ordeal, a new registrant who preferred anonymity lamented the ugly experience at the registration centre, explaining: “The capturing has been very stressful. I have been given several appointments but each time I visit, I will meet only one INEC official who would tell me that he can’t do the job alone. I went back the second time but they still told me to come back again the following day. The whole thing was tiring,” he lamented.
Another respondent said, “I am shocked with the turnout of the youths. The crowd was a confirmation that the youths have woken up from slumber. As a parent, I have to secure the future of my children by ensuring that I register and get my PVC.”
Now that the electoral commission has listened to the clamour and court order to extend the deadline for the exercise, collection of the PVC before the election may constitute another hurdle for the determined electorate.
The bone of contention by the commission for the insistence’ on deadline was to enable it to print the PVCs for collection ahead of the 2023 elections. The commission did not only assure the registrants of collecting the PVCs but also that their votes will count.
“When will your PVCs be ready for collection? PVCs will be ready for collection latest by October this year long before the election. I want to thank you for making the PVCs the most popular Identification Card. I urge the youths to ensure that they use the PVCs for the purpose it is meant for, not just for the opening of bank accounts,” INEC’s chairman, Yakubu said.
He also assured the registrants that beyond registering and collecting their PVC, their votes will equally count in all elections, promising that; “Ekiti governorship poll was good, Osun will be better and 2023 general elections will be the best. Your votes will count. For those who are yet to register, kindly do so to vote.”
The sensitivity of the exercise equally attracted the attention of the international community with the head of the EU delegation to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador Samuela Isopi, charging the youths not to sell their votes, reminding them that they have the numbers to drive positive change.
“This is the start of a great change. We can feel the energy. Nigerians are mobilising and there is this feeling that this time they are ready to be the driver of change. You have the power to drive positive change. Get your PVCs and use them. Your votes will count and don’t give up your power. Don’t sell your votes because if you sell your votes, you sell your future.
“Go out and challenge your leaders and stand for your values. This is the way to build democracy, to have better governance and a better Nigeria. The EU will stand by you and by all Nigerians to make Nigeria’s democracy stronger,” the EU delegation boss charged the electorate.
However, looking beyond obtaining the PVC and the appeal by the commission to deploy them for the main purpose it is meant for, voting during elections, there is a strong feeling that the rush could be connected with the desire to turn them into commercial purpose.
“Very soon, the PVC will be more of a commercial venture than for actual voting. The electorate are becoming aware that the first measure towards benefitting from the illegal vote-buying is to own a PVC. In a country where the electorate feel that they don’t have much in determining who leads them, there will always be the temptation to convert the PVC to commercial purpose.
“Unless the political parties join in the campaign to highlight the evil effects of the electorate misusing their PVCs, the trend of illegally commercialising the PVC will escalate,” a political leader, who craved anonymity, warned.