Ohanaeze Anambra Demands Extension of CVR Exercise over ‘Inexcusable Failures’

By Praise Chinecherem

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide in Anambra State has expressed disappointment over what it called shameful and inexcusable failures that has characterized the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise across the State.

Publicity Secretary, Barr. Uzo Ekemezie who stated this on Thursday expressed concerns that what should have been a seamless civic process, has become a deliberate scheme to disenfranchise Anambra in many communities.

There has been reports of hiccups characterizing the process, including grossly insufficient men and equipment deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for teeming number who turned out for the exercise.

There were also inadequate bandwidth to power the data capturing machines.

Ekemezie in a statement on Thursday condemned the avoidable chaos and failures reported across the state.

He demanded immediate and unconditional extension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise across the State.

He also demanded deployment of sufficient registration machines, competent personnel and reliable network infrastructure to communities, especially rural areas like Ogbaru, Anambra East and West, Ihiala, Ayamelum, and others heavily underserved.

The statement reads in part, “Thousands of potential voters in Ogbaru, Obosi, Anambra East, Anambra West, Ihiala, and several other communities and wards are being systematically denied their constitutional right to register and participate in the electoral process.

“Complaints from various communities paint a disturbing picture of gross undersupply of registration machines and personnel, crippling the process from the start, extremely limited registration locations.

“Citizens are forced to travel long distances and endure endless queues, inadequate network infrastructure, with INEC field staff relying on individuals to provide personal data connectivity to power their systems.

“There is also widespread reports of extortion, where citizens are being forced to pay bribes to registration officers in order to exercise their civic right.

“There’s transaction-driven bottlenecks, especially in populous wards like Obosi, Nigeria’s largest ward, where most eligible voters have been unable to register.

“INEC’s failure to deploy resources adequately and ethically manage the process, raises serious questions about its commitment to credible elections in Anambra State.

“Ohanaeze demands urgent investigation and sanctioning of all personnel involved in acts of extortion or transactionalizing the registration process.

“INEC must immediately address all operational failures to restore public confidence ahead of the November elections.

“No citizen of Anambra State should be denied the fundamental right to register and vote. Disenfranchisement in any form is a violation of our civic rights and a threat to democracy.”

The apex Igbo group called on government, political leaders, civil society and all stakeholders to unite on the issue and officially demand urgent intervention from the electoral umpire.

It insisted that INEC has an obligation not just to conduct elections, but to guarantee that every eligible citizen is given unhindered access to the process.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Anambra State Chapter, will not accept excuses or explanations. What we demand is immediate corrective action.

“We call on INEC to extend the CVR now, fix the failures, and respect the civic rights of Ndi Anambra,” the statement emphasized.