Ondo seeks voters registration extension

The Ondo State government has called on the
chairman of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), Prof Atahiru Jega , to extend
the deadline for the on-going Continuous Voters’
Registration Exercise in the state by three days, to
accommodate eligible voters in the state but have
been unable to do so as a result of the inadequacies
recorded in the course of the exercise.
The government made the call through its
Committee on INEC Voters Registration, Mr Clement
Faboyede.
The government appealed to the INEC Chairman to
ensure the deadline of the registration exercise is
shifted so that a good number of residents in the
state would be able to register and obtain their
voter’s card and perform their civic duties during
the 2015 general elections.
Faboyede, who addressed journalists alongside
the state’s Commissioner for Information,
Mr Kayode Akinmade, noted that 98% of the
capturing machines being used in the 2003 wards
across the state were either faulty, slow or archaic
and expressed  the fear that the level of
performance of the exercise, if not corrected, would
disenfranchise numerous youths of eligible voting
age, adding that INEC must create additional voting
units and provide more machines for the exercise.
He also frowned at the lack of enough
preparedness and training of adhoc staff for the
exercise, observed that “ there is no way all the
eligible voters can register as the effort put in
place was not good enough for the stipulated time”.