BY OLA AJAYI
SOME eligible voters in Oyo State may be disenfranchised in the April poll as some ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, are yet to grasp the procedure that would make the exercise a success.

When Vanguard visited some registration centres yesterday, it was discovered that numerous people who had registered at the inception of the exercise between  Saturday and  Thursday were asked to use only one finger as against the 10 fingers required by the electoral body.

At Ward 06, Idi-Obi 2, Community Primary School, Airport,  yesterday, there were many complaints by those waiting to be registered. While some said they were told by the representatives of INEC that there was nothing wrong in taking only one  fingerprint as against the ten stipulated, a source alleged that four DDC machines were carted away to unknown destinations under the guise that they were going to rectify some errors.

It was further gathered that agents of some politicians had been positioned at some registration centres to carry out the dictates of their leaders.

At some of these centres, some politicians were seen with numerous voting cards with them giving to those who had registered earlier.

When Vanguard asked the representatives of the electoral body about the allegation on the number of fingers to be used, both of them said there was nothing wrong in using only one finger and that any attempt to make them use ten fingers would amount to double voting which render their registration invalid.

Someone who was asked to use only a finger was told to come back for the thumb printing of other nine fingers. When he got there, he was told to go back and that the only finger already thumb printed would be enough for voting.

The ad-hoc staff added that most important thing was for the intending voter was to have his name on the handwritten register.

But, their explanation contradicted that of the Head, Public Affairs, Mr. Ayodele Folami who said the case at the place was an isolated one promising to get to the centre to rectify the error.

When Vanguard got to the centre some minutes past 12 yesterday, none of INEC staff was found to put the NYSC members on the right track if they failed.

Other people at the center were asking how those came from many kilometers away would get the information that they had to come back for proper registration.

An unconfirmed report also had it that some politicians collected the voting cards of some eligible voters and gave them N1,000 each.