The registration exercise which, however, witnessed slow start across the country, was marked by technical hitches in many states and the federal capital territory.
Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) were deployed for the exercise expected to wind up on January 29.
In Imo State, 40 corps members protesting their exclusion from the voter registration were arrested.
At press time, they were still being held by the police at Owerri, the state capital.
Governors Babangida Aliyu and Rotimi Amaechi of Niger and Rivers State, expressing the fear that the two weeks allocated by the INEC for the registration may be insufficient for all the prospective voters to be captured, called for the extension of the exercise.
Prior to the arrival of the president at his Otuoke hometown where the INEC boss personally supervised the registration of the nation number one citizen, his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, and mother, Madam Jonathan, he (Prof Jega) had earlier visited some of the registration centres units in Yenagoa to monitor the progress of work.
The registration of Jonathan, which took place at ward 13, Otazi polling unit, Otuoke at exactly 2.20pm shortly after he arrived the serene rural settlement, was witnessed by the Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, and Commander of the Joint Task Force, Major General Charles Omoregie, among others.
Speaking to newsmen after the registration of the first family, Jega assured that every eligible Nigerian who availed himself of the exercise would be registered.
Though the INEC boss disclosed that 120,000 DDC machines were earmarked for the exercise, he explained that the commission had already deployed 98,000 to the various centres across the country. Jega added that deployment of the remaining machines in the next few days would further enhance the registration exercise.
The INEC boss explained that in spite of the enormous preparation put in place by the commission to ensure the process commences on time, it had its challenges.
Abuja:Twin problems of hitches, late take-off
In Abuja, the technical hitches arising from apparent software failure characterized the commencement of the registration exercise as several residents of the federal capital who trooped out to register could not do so.
In several registration centres, there were large presence of prospective voters who could not be registered because of the malfunctioning of the finger print capturing component of the direct data capturing (DDC) machines.
But the INEC’S director of public affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Umenger, down played the problem, saying that the commission’s technical teams were moving round to resolve it.
Although prospective voters came out en mass as early as 8am to register, they had to endure several hours of waiting as the INEC officials did not arrive many of the registration centres on time.
In one of the registration centres in Karu opposite the Family Support Estate, INEC officials did not arrive until well after 10 a.m., two hours after the exercise was supposed to have commenced.
Even when they commenced the registration process, no voter was registered as at 2 p.m. because their fingerprints could not be captured as a result of the software malfunction.
The same scenario played out at four other registration centres visited in the High Brow Asokoro Area by Sunday Vanguard, except for the model Primary School Centre where about ten voters had been registered as at 2:45p.m.
Lagos: Huge turnout, hitches trail exercise
In Lagos State, the people trooped out to get registered. However, only a few of them got listed and most of them went home disappointed.
A litany of hitches dogged the first day of the exercise. The hitches include late arrival of the registration officers, inability to operate the direct data capturing, DDC, machines, insufficient batteries and non-arrival of the officers in many locations.
At Ayetoro, there were no INEC officials at the designated venues and many residents who came to register returned home disappointed.
At 2 p.m, hundreds of would-be-voters were still milling around the expansive Salvation Army Primary School, Ayobo school complex waiting for registration to begin. Unknown to them, the DDC machines were being charged in readiness for today.
In Satellite Town, there was no activity in many polling units. But the exercise kicked off late in a couple of polling units. In unit LG-04, RA-05, PU 017 at Casco Street, Agboju-Amuwo, only three persons were registered as of 3.45 p.m.
A similar situation was observed at Oba Palace, Kuje Amuwo, which has about four polling units.
At the Olusosun Primary School in Onigbogbo Local Development Area of Ikeja Local Government, INEC officials turned up at about 10.05 am, but did not start registration of voters till about 11.15.
The officials had problems operating the DDC machines as they could not log into the system. The access numbers given to the officials could not open the machine.
Meanwhile Governor Babatunde Fashola registered and called on residents to exercise patience and cooperate with registration officials in order to ensure a smooth process.
Fashola, accompanied by his wife, Dame Abimbola Fashola, arrived the ward 3G located at the State Senior Grammar School, Surulere, and made the appeal while speaking with newsmen shortly after registering.
On the complaint by some residents that they could not find registration centres, he said, “it is unfortunate that people are complaining about location of registration centres; we have said it before that we have not changed anything. In the past, different polling units could have just one machine, but now each unit has its own machines.”
Source: The Vanguard
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