By Adadainfo
The Independent National Electoral Commission was Monday advised to continue with its voter registration exercise to capture more eligible Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The secretary, SouthEast wing of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief James Ugwu, stated this while addressing newsmen in Enugu. He said the enthusiasm shown by Nigerians in the just-concluded exercise showed that Nigerians’ hope of free and fair elections had been rekindled.
According to him, “I advise INEC to acquire more machines and mop up eligible Nigerians eager to get their voters’ cards before the elections. If it does that, INEC would have achieved the highest. If you look at what happened within the few months that the exercise lasted, the number of people that got registered is almost more than those that registered all these years. The reason is that people are ready. The Electoral Act is showing that votes will count.
“It is the responsibility of INEC to ensure that every Nigerian is registered. They gave some months for the registration, and it elapsed. They had to stop probably to do the needful to ensure that the exercise is perfect.
“Getting every eligible Nigerian registered is the only way Nigerians can express themselves through the ballot. The number of people willing to get registered tells you the enthusiasm of the masses to get the right thing done.”
On possibilities of vote buying, Chief Ugwu said, “The issue of vote buying may not stop completely, but I advise people to avoid selling their conscience. When you sell your conscience, you suffer it.”
