Churches and Community Based Organisations in Emohua  Local Government Area of Rivers, have been urged to help mobilise people to participate in the on-going voter registration.

The Chairman of the council, Mr. Emeka Woke, made the appeal in Emohua on Sunday, saying the church and community-based groups must be in the forefront of the crusade for effective mobilisation toward the exercise.

Woke told newsmen that  the council had already set-up a committee that had been moving from one community to another to sensitise the people on the need to get registered.

“As part of that effort to mobilise our people for the exercise, I am calling on the churches to reach out to their members. I also want local groups based in the communities to see this as another civic responsibility.

“In our own way, we have employed local information dissemination system such as town criers and the use of opinion leaders,’’ he said.

Woke said the nation’s attempt  to achieve  free and credible elections this year based on one man, one vote would be difficult without full participation  of the electorate in the on-going registration.

Our correspondents reports, however, that the exercise did not take off on time in some communities in the area, due to late arrival of materials.

The exercise was also fraught with technical hitches as registration officers complained of problems malfunctioning printers and technical incompetence of registration officers.