Fashola Queries INEC Over Disappearance Of 1,447,845 Voter Registration Cards

Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has queried the 4.8 million permanent voter’s cards (PVCs) for the state by INEC as questionable, even as INEC commences  distribution of permanent voter’s cards (PVCs) in the state.

Fashola in a special broadcast in Lagos on Wednesday, expressed surprise at the figure, which is 1,447,845 lower than what was allocated to the state in 2011 general elections.

Adekunle Ogunmola, the resident electoral commissioner of INEC in the state, had on October 29, 2014, announced that the commission was set to distribute a total of 4.8 million permanent voter’s cards to residents of the state starting from November 7 to 9, 2014.

But the governor described the abysmal figure as a deliberate move to disenfranchise Lagos electorate in the approaching 2015 elections as it represents a shortfall of 1,447,845 from the previous of 6,247,845 registered voters in 2011 elections, and called on INEC to explain the missing figures.

“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.

“This was an exercise conducted by INEC. This was an exercise where INEC boasted to Nigerian that it has secured an automatic fingerprint identification system (AFIS) to ensure the credibility of the voters’ register. INEC must explain to us how 1,447,845 voters’ registration cards disappeared to leave Lagos with only 4,800,000 registered voters.

“INEC has itself attempted to ascribe the disappearance of 1,447,845 registered voters on its register in Lagos to what it calls ‘consolidation’; ‘Business Rule’ and AFIS. Lagosians demand to know what these terms mean, are they provided for in the Electoral Act? Fashola queried.

Meanwhile, the governor has declared Friday (tomorrow) a work-free day to enable public servants in the state take part in the first day of the PVCs distribution.

The governor made the declaration in a special statewide broadcast to residents on the commencement of the issuance of PVCs by INEC in the state on Wednesday.

The governor said the commencement of the process of issuance of PVCs in Lagos signaled the commencement of the elections process, noting that the electorate must take part in order to vote in the 2015 elections.