Residents of Enugu State on Thursday appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the ongoing Permanent Voter Card (PVC) registration exercise beyond Sunday, July 31.
They said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Enugu.
The appeal came on the heels of current rush by groups and individuals scrambling to register for the PVC before the Sunday deadline.
Mr Olu Omotayo, a member of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) said there was the need for the extension of the registration to afford eligible voters more time to register.
“In my humble opinion, INEC should extend the registration to, at least, one Month. This will enable both old and new eligible voters to register,” he said.
Omotayo said that the current rush by voters in the state and by extension, across the country, was a result of recent electoral success in Osun.
“I think that after the Osun election where there was great improvement in the electoral process, people now believe in the process,” he said.
Speaking, Mr Samuel Aniegbo, a resident of Obiagu street, Enugu, said that INEC should extend the deadline to accommodate more eligible voters.
“INEC ought to extend the deadline for more weeks so that people can obtain their PVCs,” he said.
In the same vein, Mr Justus Nwabueze, a lecturer at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Faculty of Law, also urged INEC to extend the deadline.
“For the sake of the youth, who are now conscious of their rights to vote in an election; for those adults that have now realised the importance of exercising their franchise, INEC must extend the deadline,” he said.
Ugwu, however, exonerated INEC from the state of current panic registration, saying that the problem was caused by nonchalant attitude of many Nigerians.
“Some people are notorious for doing things late, so, this is not new,” he said.
Mrs Angela Nweze, a woman potential voter at Amechi 1 registration centre, Awkunanaw, decried the long queue at the registration point.
She said she was in the queue for over five hours “and even now I am yet to register”.
NAN reports that there is presently serious rush by various groups, organisations including churches, civil society, institutions and local council’s for PVC registration in the state. (NAN)
