3rd July, 2018
Residents of Omor community in Ayamelum Council Area, Anambra, have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy more machines to ensure wider coverage of voters’ registration in the area.
Some of the residents told newsmen on Tuesday at Omor that if INEC did not act fast, many eligible voters would be disenfranchised during the 2019 general elections in the area.
The traditional ruler of Omor community, Oranu Chidume, said that the community had assisted the registration officers in the area of logistics to facilitate their work but regretted that no significant change had been noticed.
“We are calling on INEC to bring more machines to enable all our eligible voters to be captured,’’ he said.
Chidume called on Gov. Willie Obiano to look into the matter and help solve the problem before it was too late.
The royal father said that the community had reasonable voting strength, and lamented that if adequate arrangements were not made, few persons would vote in 2019 due to the inability of many others to register.
Three farmers, Nnenna Igboamalu, Onuzurike Nwankwo and Josephine Madukom, said they made several attempts to register but without any success.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties and Continuous Voter Registration, Mrs Amaka Akudo, said her office was looking into the matter.
The Head, Voter Education and Publicity Department, INEC, Awka, Mr Leo Nkedife, said the commission was making efforts to address the challenges faced by electoral officers.
INEC had only three Direct Data Capturing Machines in the Ayamelum Local Government Area out of which only one was functional.
The situation made some natives to stage a protest to local authorities.