Eligible voters of 18 years of age and above in Ogoni lad have been called upon to register emass in the on-going nation-wide voters registration exercise to remain relevant as change agents in the forthcoming 2011 general elections in the country.

Former Secretary to the State Government, Hon. Magnus Ngei Abe, made the call Saturday shortly after being registered with his wife Mrs. Bariyaah N. Abe, at Bera Community Secondary School, in Gokana Local Government Area of the state.

He reminded prospective voters of the need to enlist in the exercise, emphasizing that it was the first step to being a participant, contributor and change agent in the Nigerian project and an opportunity for even Nigerian to express his desire for a better country”.

According to him, “the basic step in actually showing that the things that you say you don’t like about Nigeria and you want to change them is, simply to register as a voter”.

He used the opportunity to call on skeptics to have faith in the exercise, while appealing to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the terminal date earlier announced for the exercise in order to compensate for the time lost in grappling with hitches attendant on the use of the Direct Data Capturing machines (DDCM).

Abe said the state government attaches importance to the voter’ registration exercise, as it would not only afford eligible and registered voters the opportunity to vote for candidates of their choice during the 2011 general elections, but would also be basic requirement for admission of children into the Model schools, as well as enable them access facilities at government healthcare centres, the ultra modern markets and the Micro-credit Finance Scheme.

The Rivers South-East Senatorial hopeful who also monitored the exercise in some units in the Khana Local Government Area, expressed satisfaction over the massive turnout of eligible voters in the areas and the improvement recorded in staff proficiency and technical procedures of the exercise.