By CHUKS EKE
A pan-Igbo socio-political organization based in Onitsha, Anambra state, Ndigbo Unity Forum, NUF has accused officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC of demanding as much as between N2,000 and N5,000 from residents of Southeast geopolitical zone before they could register them in the ongoing Permanent Voters Registration, PVC exercise in all the registration centers in the zone.
NUF lamented that more worrisome is the fact that those who could not play along with the INEC officials were denied the opportunity to register and obtain their PVCs, while those who had already registered in the past were not given the PVCs, which prompted the fact that so many PVCs are lying idle at the local government headquarters in the zone without being distributed to their various owners.
In a press statement issued yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra state signed by the National President of the forum, Augustine Chukwudum, NUF further lamented that if the current ugly trend is allowed to continue, millions of eligible voters would be disenfranchized during the 2023 general election in the country, thereby mesmerizing the entire electoral system which the present day administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is insisting that must be credible and transparent.
The forum which noted that this alarm was based on its findings during its just concluded inspection tour of the registration centres in the zone, blamed Southeast governors for folding their arms and watch this ugtly phenomenon taking place right under their nose, as if nothing is at stake, when their counterparts in the north and west are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that their people get their PVCs and get ready to cast their votes during the fast approaching general elections in the country.
“Election is fast approaching and we are using this medium to call on southeast governors to assist in taking this PVCs house to house so that people will get them easily without extortion and elect a government of their choice in 2023 because Nigeria has been messed up by bad leaders since 23 years now”.
Today, a bag of 50kg local rice sells at N30,000; a kg of gas is N760; a litre of kerosene is N650; fuel is N175; one US dollar exchanges for N600 and so on”.
