The Independent National Election (INEC) Wednesday said efforts geared towards growing the voting capacity of Abia State to two million has started yielding the desired results as the number of eligible voters has hit 1.85 million.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Joseph Iloh, made this known when the state leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) visited the state office of INEC to make the party’s presence in the state known to the electoral umpire.


He said there have been sustained efforts to get Abia people to shake off their apathy and actively participate in the ongoing continuous voter registration (CVR), noting that he was hopeful that the target figure of two million would be realised before the end of the exercise on August 17, 2018.

To achieve this, the REC urged political parties, church leaders, town union leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to intensify their efforts in mobilising people of voting age to participate in the electoral process.

He explained that the apathy hitherto displayed by the Abia people was due to their loss of confidence in the electoral process because of their experience in previous elections when they felt that their votes were not allowed to count.

“Convincing people to come out and register and get their PVC was like extracting water from stone. But we kept telling them that we are going to do the right thing,” he said.

However, the REC, who is barely a year in Abia State, said he has been able to win back the confidence of the people with every assurance that under his watch in the state office of INEC, every vote will henceforth count at every election.

“We are going to do the right thing. Do your part and we are going to do our own, and the 2019 election in Abia State would be free, fair and credible,” he stated.

Iloh noted that the desperation of politicians still constitutes a stumbling block in efforts of INEC to give Nigerians credible poll as politicians engage in all manner of tricks to circumvent the electoral system in their quest for power.

Earlier, the acting Chairman of SDP, Hon Chidi Nwosu, had commended INEC for its efforts in mobilising Abia people as well as expanding the facilities to enable eligible voters to obtain their PVCs.

He officially informed the REC that the party has concluded arrangements for its forthcoming congresses beginning with the ward congress scheduled for July 27.

Nwosu, who led the interim executives on courtesy visits to heads of security agencies in the state to inform them of the party’s presence in the state, said the party was experiencing a rebirth and has its presence at the grassroots.

http://www.akelicious.net/2018/07/inec-moves-to-grow-abias-voting.html

Quite commendable

Good development...

Not all the two million people will vote in 2019, some just need PVC to open a bank account in their various bank...E ku growing o

They need it to vote out PDP that have refuse to better the state.

useless set of INEC. The two days holiday declared by the govt to workers to obtain their PVC was wasted due to malfunction of materials and lack of effective personells, so how can they reach that number? Other regions are doing hitch free, but when it comes to the south east, one or two problems or excuses must surely surface

hisgrace090:
They need it to vote out PDP that have refuse to better the state.

Your opinion tho.
All we know is that the current PDP government in Abia is simply the best so far. Even amid lean resources, heavy projects are littered all across the state. Ah swear down, the present administration will surely be remembered by successive generations. Ikpeazu is laying the foundation from the scratch, so it's not gonna be easy, but we need to be patient with him. The decay that was long accumulated by past administrations won't allow you appreciate the good works of OVI. Forget about the campaign promises from other politicians, they just want to mount that seat, they ain't coming to do any magic aside what Ikpeazu is currently doing. A spectator is always a world best player till he gets into the pitch. Don't be deceived my dear.