Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has deployed additional 209 voter enrollment machines to Lagos, Kano and the five South-East states to ease congestion at the various centres for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed this in a statement, on Saturday.
Okoye said INEC received reports of the challenges being faced by prospective voters and unprecedented surge in the number of citizens in the affected states wishing to register as voters.
The INEC commissioner said reports indicated that in some states there was overwhelming turnout of prospective registrants.
He said, “Consequently, the commission convened an urgent meeting with all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Thursday, to review the situation so that eligible Nigerians who wish to register are able to do so.
“The necessity to urgently deploy more voter enrollment machines to ease the congestion at the registration centres was identified as a priority.
“In response, the commission has immediately released additional 209 machines deployed mainly to the five South Eastern states, Lagos and Kano where the pressure is most acute.”
He stated that INEC would monitor the situation over the next few days and convene a meeting later to review the progress of the exercise.
He, however, appealed to all Nigerians for patience and understanding, saying every step would be taken and several options would be explored to ensure that eligible Nigerians register as voters.
“Every Nigerian who is 18 years of age and above has the constitutional right to register and vote in any part of the country he/she resides without let or hindrance,” he said.
Okoye described the sudden surge in Nigerians interested in voter registration confirmed the increasing confidence Nigerians have in INEC electoral process.
He added that INEC would continue to ensure the sustenance of the confidence reposed in the body.