By Sam Eyoboka, Austin Ogwuda, Gbenga Olarinoye & Simon Ebegbulem
SEVEN days into the voters registration exercise which has elicited a lot of hoopla from different parts of the country, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye yesterday cried foul over the possible disenfranchisement of more than 10,000 residents of the Redemption Camp, in Osun State.

Similarly, the immediate past General Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Bishop Joseph Ojo also cried to the INEC to make haste and ensure that over 5,000 residents of Mebamu community in Lagos are not inadvertently denied an opportunity to exercise their right to vote during the forthcoming elections.

Pastor Adeboye, who quietly celebrated his 30th anniversary as the General Overseer of RCCG at the Redemption Camp, yesterday, told our reporter that over 10,000 residents of the sprawling city on Kilometre 46 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway may not vote in April unless the authorities at INEC give them the opportunity to register during the ongoing voters’ registration exercise.

According to the respected cleric, seven days into the exercise there is no registration centre in the place where over 10,000 persons live, besides students of the Redeemers University of Nigeria, RUN, and several hundred others who come there daily to work in the several companies in the camp.

The source said Pastor Adeboye who had been mobilising Christians through the monthly Holy Ghost Services and similar fora, to turn out en masse to register for the forthcoming elections, may himself be denied an opportunity to vote in the elections, because INEC had not made any provision for the residents in the Camp.

I am also disenfranchised –  Gov Uduaghan

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan says he has not been able to  register  in the on_going voter’s registration exercise owning to the absence of DDC machines in Warri North local government area where he hails from and is expected to register.

Uduaghan who stated this during a breakfast meeting with journalists in Asaba, yesterday thanked the people of the three Warri councils for their patients despite the hiccups. The Governor left the breakfast meeting to monitor the progress of the exercise right from Asaba, through Agbor to other parts of the state.

The INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Della State, Dr. Gabriel Ada had while addressing protesters from the three Warri councils who stormed the INEC headquarters in Asaba on Thursday said “the Commission will need an additional 412 for the remaining three Councils in Warri where registration is yet to commence.

INEC registers 1.6 million eligible voters in Lagos in six days

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday said it registered about 1.6 million eligible voters in Lagos State in the first six days of the exercise.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos, Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that the commission was expected to register about five million voters in Lagos State by the end of the exercise.

“In spite of the challenges of the ongoing registration exercise, the turnout remains below expectation considering that the exercise may end by next weekend.

“In addition to posters, advertisements and jingles, the commission embarked on road shows across the state on the need for residents to come out to register,” he said.

He appealed to Nigerians to embrace the exercise in totality, pointing out that it was their civic responsibility.

Ooni calls on Nigerians to register

The Ooni of Ife and Chairman, Osun State Traditional Council of Chiefs, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse I1, has charged  all Nigerians who are of voting age to participate actively in the on_going registration exercise.

The monarch made the appeal in Ile_Ife when he registered as a voter at the Enuwa Square registration centre located within the premises of the palace in Ile_Ife.

Oba Sijuwade who was accompanied by all Obas and chiefs in Ife said “all of us who are 18 years and above must come out to register”.

“Without registration  there is no way we can exercise our franchise when it is time to vote in the general election that is coming up this year” he said

Assisted  by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, Oba Sijuwade who registered at about 2.00pm also called on the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC), to look into the problems of areas where there were hitches with a view to rectify it.