The hope of the people of Imo State to elect their preferred candidates in the forthcoming 2015 general election may have suffered a serious setback in the state as the collection of the much publicised Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) turned into a near flop.
The three-day exercise, which started on November 7, 2014 ended on Sunday November 9 with public outcries and frustration trailing it in many council areas, wards and polling units in the state. In recognition of the apparent failure on its part and in a face saving measure, the Imo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC swiftly extended the exercise by two days to end on Tuesday.
While the exercise was successful in some local government areas and wards, it did not see the light of the day in other parts of the state. Some of the affected areas visited by our reporter included Owerri Municipal(with the exception of Ikenegbu 1 and Azuzii Wards), Owerri North, Orsu, Isiala Mbano, Ehime Mbano and Oguta LGAs while Atta Wards 1 and 2 in Njaba LGA, Amurie Uburu in Oru West LGA, Ilile in Ohaji Egbema LGA, Mgbee Ward in Orlu LGA, gate and some polling units in Okigwe Urban Ward 2 and many others across the state.
This came against the high expectations that trailed the massive public enlightenment for residents of the state to troop out en masse to come out and collect their cards and thousands of residents who trooped to their various polling units were left frustrated as they waited d for INEC officials throughout the four days the exercise lasted without any trace of officials to distribute the PVCs.
In some others where the exercise took place, there were problems of missing names and booths while in most of the rural areas in the state, more than 75 percent of the cards were left uncollected.
Mr. Macaulay (MC) Duru, who was sighted at Okwuekwuru Polling Unit Atta Ward 2, in Njaba LGA said he returned from Ore Ondo State on Friday evening, hoping to collect his card that would enable vote during the elections, but had not seen the INEC officials.
“I left my business because of the importance I attach to this kind of thing. But after staying for three days without seeing the INEC people, I don’t think I will return home to vote again. It is very frustrating the way we do things in this country without adequate preparation. It is bad.”
In Mgbee community, a community leader who simply identified himself as Chidi said he mobilised several members of the community to sacrifice their farms and businesses and come out and collect their PVCs, but lamented that they came out without seeing any official of the INEC.
“With what has happened, I doubt if any member of our community will come out next time for continuous registration because they will still think that what happened before will happen again.”
The situation at Isiala Mbano and Ohaji-Egbema council areas were similar in the sense that there were evident display of apathy towards the exercise by indigenes and residents of these areas, an issue that was also blamed on INEC for poor voter-education campaign.
It was the same story in Nekede Mechanic Village in Owerri Municipal Council where Mrs. Maryjane Uyanna, a civil servant told our reporter that she and most civil servants in the area had to come out to collect the PVCs because of the threat by Governor Rochas Okorcha that without it no civil servant would be paid salaries.
She appealed to the governor prevail on the commission to allow them get the cards, adding that the cards should no longer be used as yardstick for payment of salaries because of the difficulties that had surrounded the exercise.
There was no sign of activities at the polling station at Owerri Girls Secondary school, as no official of INEC was sighted anywhere near the polling station even though the people kept reporting to the centre.
It was the same situation at Shell Camp, Owerri on Saturday except for the fact that one man without any official identification urged voters who waited in vain for INEC officials to write down their names on a list. The voters declined and challenged his authority. He left the polling centre shortly after. But until Tuesday, no INEC official was seen around.
Also in Okuku community in Owerri West council area, Uzoma Chikere, a resident, doubted INEC’s ability to conduct free, fair and credible elections in 2015, saying that the poor outing was capable of disenfranchising thousands of eligible voters in the state especially in Okuku.
“With what has happened here in the last three days where no material was brought for us to collect our cards, I have the feeling that these people don’t want us to vote and I am beginning to doubt the credibility of next year’s election. You people have to let them know that they are losing our confidence.”
For Godfrey Madu from Okigwe who told our reporter that he just returned from Benue State to ensure he voted for who becomes the governor of the state in 2015, said he was unable to receive his PVC because INEC officials could not come.
In his words, “If I knew we would wait for three days without getting the card, I wouldn’t have left my business to waste my precious time here. This is the reason most people don’t participate in this kind of thing.”
The PVC is the people’s right to good governance and the people’s right to improved standard of living and cannot just be narrowed into two days of shoddy distribution exercise.
Not a few prospective voters are of the view that the failure of INEC may not be unconnected to the normal political gimmick deployed by some politicians to gain political advantage over political rivals.
INEC should as a matter of expediency restore public confidence and convince Imo people that they did not deliberately set out to undermine the process and disenfranchise the electorate. INEC must redress the anomaly and like the popular clamour in Imo state, extend the PVC distribution exercise by at least, seven working days.
Reacting to some of the complaints, the Public Relations Officer of the INEC in Imo State, Mrs. Ben Okpara, said the commission was aware of the difficulties being faced by some electorate in the state, saying the problems would be taken care of.
Accoding to her, no electorate would be disenfranchised for anny reason, adding that everybody who registered would be issued with his or permanent voter’s card.
Okpara added that the commission would soon announce the procedure of getting the cards as soon as the PVC’s were brought fro the INEC headquarters
