JUST IN: Edo APC, PDP trade blame over alleged hijack of voter registration

The Edo State All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party are at loggerheads over the alleged hijack of the Continuous Voter Registration.

 

The exercise began on May 27 in Edo and Ondo states and was expected to end on June 5 but the Independent National Electoral Commission extended it till June 9.

 

Speaking on the exercise on Wednesday, the state APC Publicity Secretary, Peter Uwadiae, said that his party advocated an extension of the exercise even before it began, noting that it would give more people the chance to register.

 

He alleged that the PDP has hijacked the process with those who profess to be PDP members getting registered.

 

He said, “It is the level playing ground which has not been provided for all the parties to get their people registered that we are bothered about. PDP has been a stumbling block to other parties registering their members.

 

“It is unfortunate that you go to a registration centre and they will be asking you which party do you belong to.

 

“At this time of registration, the issue of party should not assume this proportion. The reason why you see that there are still many people to register is because of the idea that is being pushed that if you are not a PDP member, you cannot register.

 

“Even with the extension, the problem will still be there with the government of the day monopolising the issue of registration,” he added

 

However, the PDP Campaign Committee Media Deputy Director General, Olu Martin, said the APC’s allegation was to destroy or weaken the institution.

 

He said, “Let me say that as a party, we are worried that individuals who ought to know to destroy or weaken our political institutions because they want to score cheap points.

 

“The implications of what APC has done with this spurious allegation is that it is saying that the Independent National Electoral Commission has been corrupted.

 

“If they are saying that the INEC cannot carry out a simple CVR task then what becomes of a cumbersome task of conducting a governorship election?

 

“I have never seen a PVC with APC or PDP written on it. Let’s even assume that there can be a level of influence in the ongoing CVR, it shows that the APC cannot convince people to register.

 

“There is no evidence to prove what they are saying. If people are encouraged to vote, the party they belong to is not written on their heads.

 

“My fear is that, APC has achieved over the years, a seeming expertise of demeaning institutions. If you are demeaning INEC, what then becomes of their independence.”