By: Nwakaji Peace Martins
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has demanded the annulment of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise set to commence in the state on May 27, 2024, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The state’s interim Chairman of the APC, Jarret Tenebe, articulated the party’s rationale for urging the cancellation of the CVR exercise in Edo State, citing credible intelligence suggesting that certain NEC officials have been compromised and are collaborating with the outgoing Edo State Government to manipulate the voter registration process in favor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Additionally, the APC objected to the Edo State Government’s purported decision to enlist Edo teachers, civil servants, and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as ad hoc staff for the CVR exercise, asserting that these individuals have been influenced to favor the PDP. The party also alleged that there are attempts to manipulate voter registration data to inflate the voters’ register in favor of the PDP, including efforts to register underage voters and transfer voters from neighboring states such as Delta, Lagos, Ondo, and others to distort the voters’ register and disenfranchise legitimate voters on Election Day.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Edo State, has officially informed the public of the significant damage caused to its facilities and equipment, particularly the IVED, due to heavy rainfall on Friday night, resulting in severe flooding and damage to the Commission’s perimeter fence, submerging sensitive materials in floodwater. The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) confirmed that all offices situated downstairs of the building, including the crucial ICT building, were completely flooded.
The REC for Edo State, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, has acknowledged the substantial impairment to the functionality of the INEC Benin City headquarters. The Commission cannot, therefore, claim to be committed to ensuring that the CVR exercise proceeds as planned. This is unacceptable to us as a concerned party.
We oppose the proposed utilization of the Ikpoba-Okha INEC LGA office situated at 16 Customs Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City, as the temporary “State Headquarters” for the Commission to facilitate the CVR process.
