18th January, 2011
Barely four days into the registration of eligible voters across the country, there are reports that some of the Direct Data Capture Machines used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the exercise have been stolen and taken to unknown places .
P.M.NEWS gathered that the machines were distributed to members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who work with the Commission as ad-hoc registration officers. But yesterday, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hodewu Avoseh, raised an alarm on the floor of the House that the machines were already being hijacked within the state.
Avoseh, who said he was with the State Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Henry Ajomale, yesterday evening, said they received calls from several Lagosians that some youths were going about forcefully taking away the machines to unknown destinations.
According to the lawmaker, six of the DDC machines had already been stolen as at when he was talking with his colleagues yesterday.
“Six machines have already been hijacked in various centres around Aguda, Surulere today (yesterday). So we need to ask Nigerians and the law enforcement agents to be vigilant,†he said.
A Peoples Democratic Party senatorial aspirant for Lagos West, Mr. Moshood Adegoke Salvador, also confirmed that a DDC machine was snatched at a unit in the state.
According to him, “One of our field men just called me now and told me that a DDC machine was stolen at Ozumba Compound in Alimosho Local Government Area.
“We also learnt that one was illegally kept at 74, Oroki Bus Stop, Isuti Road, Egan, under the pretext that its battery was flat when registration was supposed to be going on.â€
Complaining further, he accused INEC of planning to mastermind rigging in the forthcoming elections. “In Ayobo-Ipaja where there are 17 registration units, why would INEC send 26 machines to the place? What do they want to do with the remaining nine? We need to query that,†he said, adding that the problem actually started with INEC not knowing that they were not supposed to use local government secretariats as offices for the exercise.
Mr. Salvador said if the government was serious about the ‘one man one vote’ mantra, the presidency must provide adequate security for the INEC staff and corps members taking part in the exercise.
P.M.NEWS learnt that in Mushin area of the state, intimidation and sporadic shooting by thugs have marred the exercise.
“People are now scared to come out and register and the thugs are having a field day hijacking the machines from the youth corps members,†a source told P.M.NEWS on phone this morning.
Speaking on the issue, the State Deputy Speaker, Bola Badmus-Olujobi, doubted the success of the exercise with the deluge of complaints all over the country.
Rotimi Olowo, a lawmaker representing Somolu Constituency in the House, said he went round 21 registration centres in his constituency and found out that none of them was working.
“The only one working in one of the units took an average of three hours to register just three people and the fault started from the scanners, then to the printer and most of the machines did not have back-up batteries.
“In some cases, we had to go and borrow laptop batteries and generators for them to work, because after three to four hours, the thing would pack up if not charged.
“At the end of the day, after going through the 21 units, I realised that we could not register more than 12 people,†Hon. Olowo said.
He expressed fears on the success of the exercise, because, “some of the youth corps members told me that most of those who went through the training were not used for the exercise as they were substituted,†adding that the two weeks earmarked for the exercise will not be enough.
According to Dayo Fafunmi, another member of the House, the complaints about the registration exercise is a signal that the elections may not be successful after all.
“It portends nothing order than lack of credibility and transparency as a lot of people willing to vote would be disenfranchised.
“We need to adopt the practice where Local Government Councils would be made to register people continuously whether there is election or not. It should be a continuous thing and not one to be done at intervals,†he told P.M.NEWS last night.
— Eromosele Ebhomele & Jamiu Yisa