Kano, Owerri and Abeokuta — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is recruiting computer-literate undergraduates and manpower from Federal Government agencies in its bid to ensure a successful voter registration. Our correspondents report yesterday that the exercise was still wobbling across the nation.

In a statement by the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, the commission said it had taken concrete measures to eliminate the bottlenecks in the voter registration process which were noticed at the commencement of the exercise nationwide last Saturday.

"Already, the Commission is addressing the technical challenges that have hampered fingerprints capture and thereby slowed down the voter registration procedure in some polling units across the country. The new measures being introduced will remarkably speed up the process of registering eligible voters," he said.

"Also, many more thousands of DDCM units have been deployed in the last 24 hours to polling units that were not covered at the start-up of the exercise on Saturday. This will continue until all the polling units are provided with DDCMs in the next few days.

"Much as the commission is addressing the technical issues, it hereby calls on all potential registrants to wash their hands thoroughly with water before coming for the exercise as dirty or oily fingers would hamper the capture of fingerprints.

The commission pleaded with Nigerians for patience as it fine-tunes the processes involved in the 15-day exercise. Restating its appreciation of the massive turnout by citizens to register, as a necessary step towards exercising their civic right to vote in coming elections.

He added: "With the voter registration exercise still running until January 29, 2011, it is believed that the delay so far experienced in the process will shortly be eliminated. The Commission hereby reassures Nigerians that all eligible voters who turn out to be registered within the specified time will have the opportunity to do so."

However, Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak, the Rivers Resident Electoral Commissioner, disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN in Port Harcourt that the electoral commission has decided to recruit more hands to help in the voters registration exercise.

Ikoiwak said the commission received 7,500 corps members of the 8,884 corps members posted to the state, and that they had been trained and would be used as ad hoc staff.

He also said that registration materials to be used for the exercise, such as the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines, were not enough as the commission took delivery of only 80 per cent of what it needed.

Ikoiwak said the number of DDC machines allocated to Rivers was 4,442 and that there was a shortfall of 20 per cent.

"We have received 80 per cent of the DDC machines we need from INEC headquarters, and this to an extent, can take care of the registration," he said.

He, however, said that the commission was expecting more DDC machines "to enhance the prospects of a credible voter registration".

The slow pace of voter registration exercise, inadequate facilities, lack of trained manpower have brought the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under severe criticism.

Meanwhile, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero and a socio-political group, Arewa Citizens Action for Change (ACAC) were unanimous in pointing loopholes in the conduct of the exercise which was flagged off on Saturday.

The monarch who was at the registration centre at his Kofar Kudu palace to obtain his voter's card, spent over 20 minutes at the head of the queue before the could obtain the card.

The laptop computer used for the registration could not record the information about the emir's picture and fingerprints despite repeated effort. Another computer had to be supplied to conduct the registration.

Speaking after he had finally gotten the voter's card, Emir Bayero decried the delay and slow pace of the registration saying that could be a factor that may deter eligble voters from participating in the exercise.

"If we would have to stay for such a long time to obtain the register, what of the masses at the grassroots?" The emir wondered. He however urged citizens of the state to troop to the registration units nearest to them to obtain the voters card which, he said, will permit them to elect credible leaders.

On its part, ACAC through its assistant secretary general, Barrister Yahaya Mohammed Kanam described the ongoing voters registration exercise as a ploy to subvert the north through registering a few eligible voters. According to the group, the two week time frame was inadequate especially looking at the pace at which the exercise is going.

Addressing the press yesterday, Kanam disclosed that from the monitoring of the exercise conducted by his organisation, there were many abnormalities that need to be corrected. He said there were polling units that did not see any INEC official let alone the machines for the exercise.

According to him, many ad hoc staff who were trained for the registration were replaced at the eleventh our "all in an attempt to jeopardise the exercise up here in the north so that fewer people will be registered at the end."

The group, according to Kanam, therefore seeks for the extension of the time for the voter registration exercise from two weeks to five saying that is only when the population can be covered.

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday in Abeokuta has described the ongoing voters registration exercise as satisfactory while he called on Nigerians to exercise patience during the process of registration.

According to the former President, "We have to be patient with INEC, the challenges is normal for a new system. It is a teething problem".

He implore Nigerians not to castigate or condemned INEC saying "a new system and programme such as this is likely to have hitches and hiccups until everybody masters it.

Obasanjo who expressed optimism that INEC will make the system to work said it was too early now to call for the extension of the two week exercise "I wish Nigerians will give INEC time to prove their mettle and they will give them time to put the process in order and be determined to get register".

Obasanjo who performed his civic duty by registering at Ita-Eko registration centre, ward 15 Abeokuta North and was issued with temporary voters card after taking over one hour to complete the process.

It took the frantic effort of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner Deacon Martins Okunfolami, Administration Officer of INEC Elder Ebenezer Fakorede, and the use of three DDC Machines before

Obasanjo and his wife Dele could be registered.

Obasanjo who arrived the registration center around 11.45am had to leave the registration area in annoyance but had to return 20 minutes later before the exercise could be completed at around 1.10pm and was issued temporary voters card number 9OF5AF38FA295183008 by the State REC.

The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Makanjuola Badru, who was also at the venue while speaking with Journalists on her experience while registering yesterday at her base in Ipokia said it took her more than 45minutesw before she could be registered yesterday.

Also the gubernatorial candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the State Senator Ibikunle Amosun has called on the transparency of the system from the INEC so as to win the minds of Nigerians that truly the current INEC is poised to conduct a free and fair elections.

Amosun who said this while registering at Ita-Iyalode registration centre Abeokuta North Local Government said the whole exercise though seems to be cumbersome but no sacrifice will be too much to pay in order to ensure a free and fair polls.

"If Nigerians after going through all these cumbersome exercise were not even sure of having a free and fair polls it will be too painful and our people may not believe in the project Nigeria again".

In a related development, no fewer than 37 members of the National Youth Service Corp were arrested on Saturday for protesting against alleged manipulation by some staff of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the recruitment of corpers billed to carry out the ongoing voter registration exercise in Imo state.

Confirming the development in a statement issued yesterday by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Imo State Police Command, Mr. Linus Nwaiwu, the police said the arrested persons are undergoing thorough screening following allegation that some of them were hoodlums hired to disrupt the exercise in the state.

It could be recalled that the exercise ran into a hitch in Imo state as NYSC members trained for the exercise besieged the state office of INEC in protest of perceived injustices, bias practices and manipulations against the commission.