16th January, 2019
Religious leaders on Wednesday in Abakaliki, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the electoral processes are not compromised during the general elections.
The inter-faith group, made up of both Christians and Muslims met with INEC officials to chart the way forward for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
Participants who spoke at the meeting commended INEC for its preparations for the conduct of the elections.
Rev. Fr. Jerome Okoro, Bishop Lawson Elom, Apostle Amadi Kalu, Nasir Akuma, Abdulraham Idam, among others who spoke, pledged their support to smooth conduct of the polls in the state.
They leaders promised to use their religious platforms to mobilise members of their faith to participate effectively in the elections.
“We will do everything needful to partner the commission to enhance peaceful, credible and successful conduct of the elections in Ebonyi.
“We appeal to the commission to ensure that political parties, candidates and their supporters adhere to the electoral law and guidelines guiding conduct of the elections.
“Security agencies must be made to remain neutral, avoid partisanship and to protect the sanctity and integrity of the elections and the ballot.
“We are going to use the pulpit to preach to our respective adherents about the dangers inherent in selling or exchanging their voters cards and make them to understand that doing so is a sin before God and man,” they said.
In his opening address, Prof. Godswill Obioma, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), in Ebonyi, said that all necessary measures were in place for successful and violence free elections in the state.
He appealed to the leaders of the two main religions to preach against hate speeches, vote buying and selling and other negative tendencies that could jeopardise the conduct of free and credible elections in the state.
Obioma who frowned at the slow pace of collection of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Ebonyi, urged the leaders to sensitise their members especially those who were yet to collect their PVCs to do so.
He said that PVCs collection had been simplified and made more-friendly, adding that collection would end on Feb. 8.
“PVCs collection have been stepped down to polling units level and we have created special collection centres at the Abakaliki Main Market, Kpiri-kpiri market, Rice Mill, all tertiary institutions, timber shade and the mechanic village.
“The initiative is to bring collection closer, make it more-friendly to the registrants,” he said.
Obioma added that the commission has improved on the quality of the Smart Card Readers’ (SCR) battery, stressing that SCR would last for three days unlike in 2015.
The resident commissioner further explained that accreditation and voting would go simultaneously during the elections.
“INEC has made innovations in the voting process for the elections to remove encumbrances that characterised previous method. Accreditation and voting will be done simultaneously in the elections,” he said.
He said that the commission has made adequate security, transport and other strategic arrangements critical for the smooth conduct of the elections.