Hundreds of residents of Enugu State, on Tuesday protested over delay and technical errors in the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) exercise in the state.
The residents protested at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state.
A video of the protest Easterner saw on Wednesday, showed protesters chanting, “Give Us More Machines”; “INEC, Stop Stressing Us”; “Some of Us Have Spent Three Days on a Simple Exercise”, among others.
One of the voices in the video lamented that he had spent over N5,000 for transport to and fro from Nsukka to come to Enugu for the exercise.
“Today is the fifth day I am coming to register but I haven’t been registered. Where are the machines the commission said they were deploying to Enugu and other parts of South-East?
“After this stress, during the time of the collection of the cards, they subjected us to another stress. This is why people are not showing interest. This should be done in a manner that will reduce much stress on Nigerians.”
Addressing the protesters on the development, Rex Achumie, Head of Department, voter education and publicity of INEC in Enugu, assured them that the commission would ensure that eligible voters are registered.
“I will personally supervise to see that the commission decongests the high number of CVR registrants in Okpara Square and ensure they are being taken care of from tomorrow,” he said.
“I am also appealing to you to also use other CVR registration centres, especially the ones scattered in various local government areas to see that the crowd at Okpara Square is reduced.”
Easterner had reported INEC had fixed June 30 as the deadline for the suspension of CVR exercise across the country ahead of the 2023 general elections.
It was also reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja stopped INEC from ending the CVR exercise, following a suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 185 Nigerians.
The commission has also said it will abide by the court decision.
