The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned government officials in the country against launching subtle electoral campaigns in the guise of educating electorates on the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu state, Mr. Emeka Ononamadu, gave the warning on Thursday while speaking on the on-going CVR exercise in the state.
His words: “The government should play by the rules. You do not campaign under the guise of mobilisation when INEC has not lifted the ban on campaign.
“Government should continue to work towards realizing free, credible and transparent election and no one should position or look for undue advantage,” Ononamadu said.
He stressed the need for the electorate in the state to take the exercise more seriously; saying that the exercise had provided an ample opportunity for residents of the state to take their destinies into their hands.
The REC disclosed that the commission had intensified efforts to sensitise residents of the state with a view to either registering or picking up their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
While noting that people were beginning to have a renewed confidence in the electoral umpire due to its excellent conducts in recent outings, he said that the state had 1.6 million voting strength based on the ongoing registration.
He however added that about 127, 000 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) had yet to be collected.
Ononamadu also said that it was sad that people were still suspecting whether or not their vote would count but admitted that the government also had a role to play in order to guarantee credible polls, adding that they needed to play by the rules when mobilising the electorate for the CVR.
“The CVR is catching up well in Enugu State but we need to do better. People have started coming up in their numbers since the beginning of this year.
“I think Enugu people will need to buckle up. This is an ample opportunity that has been provided to citizens by INEC as required by law.
“When we started people were not too sure whether it was going to work or not but today they have seen that INEC is serious in terms of implementing its entire statutory mandate.
“I wonder what gave them that illusion because INEC had demonstrated in strong terms and statements that we are here to protect the mandate of Nigerians and that is what we shall do,” he said.
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