As the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the suspension of the continuous voter registration draws nearer, residents and citizens who throng the commission’s office in Egbeda Local Government Area to enable them register as eligible voters have cried out over what they described as the hijack of the registration exercise by some hoodlums believed to be working for the ruling peoples democratic party in the state.
The INEC’s local government area office located in Oluwo Area via Egbeda on Ife Road has has been a beehive of activities for some time now as prospective voters from across the 11 Wards of the Council who wish to register and obtain their permanent voter card (PVC) report daily in their hundreds with little or no hope of being attended to by INEC officials who appear overwhelmed on account of high turn out of people willing to be registered.
But the frustration of citizens assumed a new dimension since last week when some hoodlums believed to be officials of the state government-backed Part Management System began to move all sort of people down for forceful data capturing by INEC officials and without any recourse to the existing arrangement of first-come-first-served.
One of the affected residents who spoke with our reporter on the condition of anonymity lamented that Mr. Mukaila Lamidi Auxiliary and his Park Managers have hijacked the process since last week.
“Leaders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Egbeda Local Government Area, Mukaila Auxiliary and his boys are harassing us with dangerous weapons in order to pave way for their party members and imported prospective registrants.They’re presently at INEC office in Egbeda, forcing the INEC officials to register their people. Thousands of bonafide residents are being denied to perform their civic right”.
“Egbeda is not the only council area that the ruling PDP and their thugs have hijacked the process. We’ve received similar reports from various local government areas of the state.”
The affected resident called on the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and law enforcement agencies to intervene before the July 31st deadline.
