Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun moves to create additional centres for Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in 13 local government areas of Lagos state.
This is even as INEC has explained that the high volume of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in Lagos state, which TheNewsGuru.com estimates to be in region of 1.4 million, is as a result of majority of the owners of the cards relocating, especially students who had completed their course of study, from the state.
Administrative Secretary of the commission in Lagos State, Dr Mustapha Mudashiru, who made this known in Lagos made this known on Saturday in Lagos.
He said the commission is pushing for more centres, especially in 13 of the 20 council areas in the state to reduce to ma manageable size crowd in existing centres.
According to the Administrative Secretary, “we requested for additional centres, particularly for some peculiar local governments in Lagos State to further address some of the challenges facing CVR in a metropolitan city like Lagos.
“We are still awaiting formal approval by the commission.
“We made the case for additional centres in Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Surulere, and Lagos Mainland local governments.
“We are hopeful that the commission will consider this and as soon as we get
approval, we will put those centres into use.
“This will go a long way in reducing crowd at existing centres because it is one of the challenges we have been facing.”
The INEC boss said the commission was committed to bringing innovation and improvement in delivering its mandate to the people of Lagos state.
He commended eligible residents of the state for their eagerness and enthusiasm toward the exercise, stressing that statistics nationwide showed that Lagos was leading in the exercise.
He also noted that the commission’s Voter Education Department is reaching out to tertiary institutions in the state to further increase awareness about the ongoing CVR.
He affirmed that the commission has carried its publicity blitz to University of Lagos, College of Education, Technical, Akoka and would visit other tertiary institutions in the state.
He urged the Lagos State Government to complement the efforts of the commission in the area of publicity and enlightenment, saying it would go a long way in assisting those who may be unaware of the exercise.
He urged eligible residents to show interest in the exercise to avoid being disenfranchised in future elections, saying it was free.
INEC started the nationwide CVR on April 27 to capture those who attained 18 years of age and others who did not register or those seeking replacement or transfer.