Oyo residents troop out for voter registration ahead of deadline

Five days to the end of the last quarter of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR), massive turnout of intending registrants were recorded in Oyo State.

The registrants included people whose Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) had been defaced and those that wanted to transfer to other polling units.

The exercise, which was generally peaceful, orderly and hitch-free in all the registration centres visited within Ibadan city and its environs.

Samuel Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner for Oyo, Osun and Ekiti, said that the exercise was peaceful and orderly in spite of the large turnout of the people.

Mr Olumekun, addressing reporters at the state headquarters of the commission in Ibadan, after monitoring the exercise in some centres, said that the registrants were being attended to promptly.

He said that priority was being given to the elderly, pregnant women and those who are physically challenged.

“Generally, the exercise has been peaceful and orderly; our staff members are handling the exercise professionally and consciously the way they are attending to the registrants,” he said.

The national commissioner said the staff members were up to the task, assuring the registrants that “whoever is on the queue will get registered before the exercise closes on July 31.

“We have been asking citizens to come out and register for the last one year, this mentality of coming out at the last minute has to be discouraged.

“For one year, people refused to come out to register and now that the closure for the exercise is drawing nearer, people are trooping out in large numbers.

“But, I can assure you that the commission is up to the task.

“We are fully prepared as we have over 141 machines with which we are working throughout the state,” Mr Olumekun said.

(NAN)