A political economist and chieftain of the Labour party, Pat Utomi, says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must do more on voter registration and the issuance of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Utomi gave this charge on Sunday, while noting that the electoral body is not doing enough.
In his words, “I don’t like the fact that voter registration is not continuing, I think that is an invasion of the democratic rights of the citizens.
“INEC like to put bureaucracy above democracy. I think that all efforts need to be made to ensure that people are getting their PVC after registration. I don’t think they are doing enough; I think more needs to be done.”
He also reiterated claims that INEC can never be a fair umpire as it is perceived to be used by the ruling class and while lamenting over the situation, Utomi said he will keep pushing the Commission do to the needful in the interest of Nigeria’s democracy.
Speaking on the nation’s security challenges as Nigerians prepare to go to the polls in February 2023, he urged the Federal Government to nip insecurity in the bud so that next year’s polls will not be threatened.
While calling on the federal government as well as the security agencies to ensure that so, Utomi noted that Nigeria’s current security situation is the result of not taking heed of warnings issued in that regard from as far as back as the run-up to the 1999 transition to democracy.
He added, “We must do everything to contain as much of it as possible to make a democratic process work next year.”
“Nothing about this state of insecurity is a surprise. Just at a time, the civilian government was coming in 1999 an American predicted what we are going through.”
