By Ade Olu
The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has expressed worry over what it terms “poor publicity and awareness” about the on-going Continuous Voters Registration.
To this end, the agency has called on political parties, faith and community based organizations as well as other bodies within the state to encourage the citizens to take active part in the on-going Continuous Voter Registration.
The Director of the Agency in the State, Mr Charles Nwoji, made the call while addressing newsmen in Awka on the state of the nation.
Mr Nwoji was worried that the exercise had not enjoyed adequate publicity and appealed to all stakeholders’ especially political gladiators and their parties to sensitize members and supporters on the need to get their voter’s cards, to be able to cast their votes in the November 6 gubernatorial election.
“Of use is it that you have supporters who follow you all about during rain and sunshine for campaign and at the end of the day the person is not a registered voter. He is like a liability to you. Political parties should set up platforms and machinery for talking to their members”
“Those who have not registered should go and register, regularise your information to enable you vote. Beyond the political parties, town unions, the clergy should help talking to their adherents. This is a civic duty that they owe this nation”, NOA director submitted.
He explained that the agency has taken up the responsibility of educating the populace in the three senatorial districts of the state, on the essence of the exercise.
He however noted that collaboration of all critical stakeholders will help a great deal in achieving maximum result.
He said: “After this interaction with the media, the COMOs in the local governments are going to take over. They have been briefed on it. We need to talk to the necessary stakeholders – those who turned eighteen recently, those who have relocated from their places of residence and those who have one or two problems with their voter’s cards, to hit the nail on the head, letting people know that the exercise is on and what their role is in the exercise”.
Mr Nwoji was optimistic that at the end of the CVR, the number of eligible voters in Anambra State would have drastically risen from the present two point five million.
