‘INEC may disenfranchise many Nigerians in 2019 elections’

Stakeholders have expressed concerns over the way and manner in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was conducting the voter registration exercise, saying it would end up disenfranchising many Nigerians in 2019 general elections.

Speaking at a forum on Promoting Good Governance And Youth Participation In Politics, they maintained that INEC was creating room for voters not to be registered in states like Lagos.In his presentation, Nurudeen Mohammed, urged Nigerian youths to come together to harness their potentials and generate resources to contest elections with the old politicians.

He said they were generating ideas instead of using their strength to move the nation to the next level, adding: “The youths are angry, and it reflects on the usage on the social media.”According to him, some political parties have concluded their party congresses in preparation for the 2019 elections, and youth did not participate actively in the processes nationwide.Also speaking, Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, said 29 million youths did not vote in 2015, adding: “Be armed with your permanent voter cards (PVCs) because politics is every thing.”

He, therefore, called on Nigerian youths to fully participate in the electoral process next year to guarantee a better future so that there would be no uninformed voters.Itodo maintained that five wealthy Nigerians could take over one million citizens out of poverty, insisting: “This is not a country that we want. We are only making imaginary progress.”

Another contributor, Seun Ajayi, argued that INEC was creating room to deny young Nigerians of voting, saying: “This is obvious. I have been participating in elections since 1979, but this time, I find it difficult to get my PVC.”