The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kebbi State on Saturday held a stakeholders round table meeting in a bid to gather inputs from participants on how to boost and encourage people in the state to register for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
The Kebbi Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Sarkin Pawa Dambo, who spoke at the meeting, told stakeholders, which comprises political parties, civil society organisations and the media, that the essence of the round table was to get responses from the participants who are critical stakeholders to the ongoing exercise
”We gather you all here to listen to your contributions and complaints with a view to solving them within the permitted level by INEC”.
Dambo added that the Commission is committed to seamless voter registration, hence the reason to sit with partners to brainstorm on the way forward so that no party and/ or individual will feel left behind.
Speakers at the meeting expressed different views regarding the exercise, with some participants calling for extension and logistics support to enable potential registrants to access the designated venues for the continuous voter registrations, and others also urged the commission to intensify public awareness campaigns in order to reach everyone in the state.
In his response, the state electoral chief maintained that voter registration is the right of every Nigerian who is eighteen and above but INEC is not responsible for their transportation to the designated places, but elders in the communities are free to assist them with transport fare voluntarily just to ensure their people are registered.
NCWS, PDP, APC, and a host of other political parties attended the meeting, which was held at Kebbi state INEC collation hall in Birnin Kebbi.
