2015: Fashola cries foul over INEC’s 4.8m registered Lagos voters
As Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, set to commence distribution of 4.8 million Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, to registered voters in Lagos State on Friday, November 7th to 9th, 2014, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, Wednesday, described the figure as “strange and surprising”.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, had on October 29th, 2014, announced that the commission was set to distribute a total of 4.8 million permanent voter cards to residents of the state commencing from November 7 to 9th.
Fashola also described the figure as an attempt to disenfranchise majority of Lagos electorate in the forthcoming 2015 general elections because there is a shortfall of 1,447,845 from the 4,800,000 registered voters as announced by INEC in the voters’ registration exercise before the 2011 elections.
Meantime, the governor has declared Friday, tomorrow, November 7th 2014, a work free day for public servants to enable them participates in the first day of the PVCs distribution, which is a working day out of the three days earmarked for collection by INEC.
The governor made the remarks in a special statewide broadcast to residents on the commencement of the issuance of PVCs by INEC in the state, held in the State House, Marina, Lagos.
Fashola, noted that with the commencement of the process of issuance of PVCs in Lagos, the process for elections has therefore, started saying, election is a process, starting from voters’ registration, to balloting, to announcement of results and to election petition and swearing in of elected persons. “So for the avoidance of any doubt, elections have started.”
According to the governor, “This obligation has become very important because of the reports emanating from INEC at a press briefing by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos that the number of voters in Lagos is now 4,800,000.
“This is strange, it is surprising and I believe INEC owes the people of Lagos a lot of answers and very quickly too.
“At the conclusion of voters registration exercise before the 2011 elections, the number of registered voters in Lagos as announced by INEC itself was 6,247,845.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, had on October 29th, 2014, announced that the commission was set to distribute a total of 4.8 million permanent voter cards to residents of the state commencing from November 7 to 9th.
Fashola also described the figure as an attempt to disenfranchise majority of Lagos electorate in the forthcoming 2015 general elections because there is a shortfall of 1,447,845 from the 4,800,000 registered voters as announced by INEC in the voters’ registration exercise before the 2011 elections.
Meantime, the governor has declared Friday, tomorrow, November 7th 2014, a work free day for public servants to enable them participates in the first day of the PVCs distribution, which is a working day out of the three days earmarked for collection by INEC.
The governor made the remarks in a special statewide broadcast to residents on the commencement of the issuance of PVCs by INEC in the state, held in the State House, Marina, Lagos.
Fashola, noted that with the commencement of the process of issuance of PVCs in Lagos, the process for elections has therefore, started saying, election is a process, starting from voters’ registration, to balloting, to announcement of results and to election petition and swearing in of elected persons. “So for the avoidance of any doubt, elections have started.”
According to the governor, “This obligation has become very important because of the reports emanating from INEC at a press briefing by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos that the number of voters in Lagos is now 4,800,000.
“This is strange, it is surprising and I believe INEC owes the people of Lagos a lot of answers and very quickly too.
“At the conclusion of voters registration exercise before the 2011 elections, the number of registered voters in Lagos as announced by INEC itself was 6,247,845.
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