Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole at the weekend, re-registered at Ward 10, Unit 1, Iyamho Community Secondary School in Etsako West Local Government Area because of fault in the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machine when he first registered at the beginning of the voters’ registration exercise in the state.

Oshiomhole, who spoke to journalists shortly after his re-registration exercise explained that he has to re-register because of hitches of the first few days of the exercise.

“We can excuse INEC because there is what we call learning period. On the first day you may not be perfect but the good news is that those involved in this village were not up to ten. It was convenient for me to come back to register again and that is the little sacrifice one has to pay to get the electoral system clean,” Oshiomhole said.

According to him, INEC, at the level of design and planning has done better in 2011 than they have planned in 2007 because in 2007, in this village, “We were hearing that four, five days into the registration exercise machines has reached Auchi and some other day you hear it had reached Jattu and you are waiting for the machine to reach your own village”.

“The beauty this time around is that every polling unit has a machine, so there is no fear that someone is delaying the machine in his place so that before it gets to your place the registration is over. I think at the level of planning and quality design, INEC was comprehensive”, he said.

The governor acknowledges in some local government areas, like Owan East, Owan West, Uhunmwode and few other places where they did not have one machine, one polling unit, but they have been assured now by the REC that machines have arrived to be deployed to those areas.

He recalled that from INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega’s public statement, if for the reason of their own fault machines are not available, they will naturally have to make allowance for those communities where these machines were not available to enable everybody register re-assuring all with the comment by President Goodluck Jonathan that every Nigerian of adult age would be registered and nobody would be shut out for technical reasons.

“I believe for now from what I have seen and heard, this exercise as imperfect as it is represents a substantial improvement over what happened in 2007. I also find a citizenry that is more determined, demonstrating a level of patriotism, that we should all be proud. When I find ordinary people raising funds to buy a small N12,000 generator, where they see that there is no power and the battery has failed, it shows that Nigerians are determined and this time we would get it right,” he enthused.

Oshiomhole also observed that, there are clear signals that politicians who are not electable but are in government and even those who seek to enter government by all means are working hard to try to defeat this comprehensive arrangement that INEC has put in place.

The challenge for INEC leadership, according to the Comrade Governor is to search to ensure that ‘Judas’ within its ranks are identified and cited example of an electoral officer at Uromi who used the children of political party members to replace National Youth Corps members who were posted for the exercise.

The governor said, “She unilaterally allowed these people who are children of party members to function as registration officers and of course you know the purpose. I am satisfied that INEC has dealt with it by chasing those characters who are not employed for that purpose away”.

“This time around, if it is Oshiomhole or anybody else that is trying to cheat on the rules, they should be dealt with because the country is greater than anybody and no one is above the law. INEC should be capable of applying the red card for any of its functionaries who is incapable of reform”, Oshiomhole added. 

Ben-Ose Ogbemudia, Benin