Voter Registration: Fashola Tasks Lagosians

Eight days into the on-going voter registration exercise in the country, Lagos State  Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has urged Lagosians not to tire, despair or  feel frustrated over the hiccups being experienced at the registration units, saying  sacrifice must be made to get the exercise right this time.

Governor Fashola, who spoke while answer questions from journalists after  strategic  monitoring tour of some registration centres in the state, said it was expedient  that Nigerians should make every sacrifice to get the exercise right this time in  order not to repeat it next time.

According to the governor, “whatever it takes to register now, we must sacrifice, we  must get it right otherwise we will be compelled to repeat this exercise. Having  started, we must get it right.”

Governor Fashola said for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),  there is clearly work to be done to address the complaints arising from the  anomalies arising from the exercise across the country in order to ensure a  hitch-free exercise.

“For INEC, clearly there is work to be done. We have had instances from the places I  have visited where there are no printers. They have been registering people without  giving them their slips. We have to ensure that when those slips are eventually  given or whatever solution INEC comes up with, it is a process that is properly  controlled and does not lead to irregularities,” the governor said.

He regretted that in many of the estates which he visited in the state such as  Abraham Adesanya, Ogombo area and large parts of Alimosho, there were no machines at  all while various other complaints are being received ceaselessly from other parts  of the state.

Giving a ray of hope that all eligible voters will be registered, Governor Fashola  noted that estates have sprung up in parts of the state in the last few years with  construction going on everywhere and people moving in and settling down in these new  areas.

“We cannot leave these people behind,” he said.

On the question of possible extension of the registration date, Governor Fashola  declared: “Extension is a matter of simple logic. If you plan to do something in 14  days and at your start-up date you did not do it substantially, on the second day  you have problem and on the eighth day you still do not have a seamless exercise,  then you certainly do not have a 14 day exercise.”

“We are still seeing problems on the eighth day of the exercise. The assumption to  do it in 14 days cannot be the assumption to do it with problems. It must have been  an assumption to get it right in 14 days. So, clearly, you have not done 14 days. It  is that simple, it is logic. If you have done 14 days of problems, it means you have  not done 14 days; that is the logic. If an exercise is supposed to go for 90 minutes  and you have 40 minutes of stoppages, you did not play 90 minutes,” Governor Fashola  said.

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