Two days into the voter registration exercise, residents in many parts of Lagos State have continued to experience slow-paced operation at the centres.
The exercise, which commenced on Saturday nationwide, has been hampered by technical hitches in Lagos. "This is not what I expect at all," says Okechukwu Johnson, a resident of Oregun, who came to register at one of the centres in Alausa area of the neighbourhood, where registration has not started as at 12 noon even though the registration officials arrived as early as 9am. "I expect to see the same vigour with which [Attahiru] Jega has been boasting in the media at the registration centre. But imagine I have been standing here for almost two hours and I don't even know whether I will be able to register today because this machine is not working."
Problems with machines
A survey of most of the centres revealed an impressive turnout of people interested in registering. In some centres, people offered assistance to get the exercise underway as early as possible. Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were noticed struggling with the operations of some of the machines. According to Azeez Akinola, a resident of Ikosi area in Ketu, the inability of the attendants to operate the machines could disenfranchise many voters.
The situation was the same in Ikorodu, Mile 12, Ketu, Ojota, Iyana Ipaja, Surulere ,and many other parts of Lagos. The exercise was characterized by excessive delay in the registration of each voter. Some of those who turned out to be registered said it was taking between 30 minutes and an hour to register a single voter with the Direct Data Capture machine. Sesan Daini, a resident of Ikorodu, said that in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu Constituency II, where there are five registration centres, only one centre worked on Saturday. "It is a deliberate thing by Jega, I believe," he said. "I remembered Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) called Jega to use the Delta State gubernatorial election to test run the DDC machines so that any unforeseen anomaly can be corrected. He refused. If we cannot have proper registration exercise, how can we have credible election?"
Wasiu Ogunrinde, a civil servant, who lives in Mile 12, said that he was at the Omo-Banta centre to register on Saturday but left without doing so after a three-hour wait. One of the attendants told us yesterday that they had technical problem and today the same excuse is being given as the cause of delay."
Improvement soon
Adekunle Ogunmola, the Lagos State INEC Electoral Commissioner, however, assured Lagos residents of an improved registration exercise as from Monday. "Let me just tell you that we are busy in the office now rectifying the various faults we have noticed," he said. "As from tomorrow [Monday], I can say that twenty percent of the centres will be able to register people in less than five minutes."
The exercise, which commenced on Saturday nationwide, has been hampered by technical hitches in Lagos. "This is not what I expect at all," says Okechukwu Johnson, a resident of Oregun, who came to register at one of the centres in Alausa area of the neighbourhood, where registration has not started as at 12 noon even though the registration officials arrived as early as 9am. "I expect to see the same vigour with which [Attahiru] Jega has been boasting in the media at the registration centre. But imagine I have been standing here for almost two hours and I don't even know whether I will be able to register today because this machine is not working."
Problems with machines
A survey of most of the centres revealed an impressive turnout of people interested in registering. In some centres, people offered assistance to get the exercise underway as early as possible. Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were noticed struggling with the operations of some of the machines. According to Azeez Akinola, a resident of Ikosi area in Ketu, the inability of the attendants to operate the machines could disenfranchise many voters.
The situation was the same in Ikorodu, Mile 12, Ketu, Ojota, Iyana Ipaja, Surulere ,and many other parts of Lagos. The exercise was characterized by excessive delay in the registration of each voter. Some of those who turned out to be registered said it was taking between 30 minutes and an hour to register a single voter with the Direct Data Capture machine. Sesan Daini, a resident of Ikorodu, said that in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu Constituency II, where there are five registration centres, only one centre worked on Saturday. "It is a deliberate thing by Jega, I believe," he said. "I remembered Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) called Jega to use the Delta State gubernatorial election to test run the DDC machines so that any unforeseen anomaly can be corrected. He refused. If we cannot have proper registration exercise, how can we have credible election?"
Wasiu Ogunrinde, a civil servant, who lives in Mile 12, said that he was at the Omo-Banta centre to register on Saturday but left without doing so after a three-hour wait. One of the attendants told us yesterday that they had technical problem and today the same excuse is being given as the cause of delay."
Improvement soon
Adekunle Ogunmola, the Lagos State INEC Electoral Commissioner, however, assured Lagos residents of an improved registration exercise as from Monday. "Let me just tell you that we are busy in the office now rectifying the various faults we have noticed," he said. "As from tomorrow [Monday], I can say that twenty percent of the centres will be able to register people in less than five minutes."
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