I address you today because as you might by now be aware, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the commencement of the process of issuance of Permanent Voter Cards in Lagos.
This means that the process for elections has started.
Yes, election is a process, starting from voters’ registration, to balloting, to announcement of results and to election petition and swearing in of elected persons.
So for the avoidance of any doubt, elections have started.
In order for our democracy to be truly representative, it must be participatory, which means that everybody who is 18 years old from today is eligible to vote in the next election.
However, participation imposes a duty on all of us, if we must have a say in the election.
The first duty is to register as a voter, to be eligible to vote at the General Elections next year.
This is the time when we must take that civic duty very seriously by making the sacrifice, by creating the time, by making the effort to ensure that our names are still on the Voters’ Register, if we voted or registered at the last election.
If you fall into this category, you must do whatever it takes to go to the polling centre where you registered or voted, to collect your Permanent Voter Cards.
If you do this, then you are ready to vote at next year’s General Election.
No business, no job, no obligation that you have can be more important than dedicating one day to collect your Permanent Voters Card so that nobody will impersonate you and use your card.
Once you have done this and collected your card then you are ready.
But as I address you today, my feelings are mixed, I am concerned.
This is because of the reports emanating from INEC at a briefing by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos that the number of Registered voters in Lagos is now 4,800,000 (Four Million, Eight Hundred Thousand).
This is strange, it is surprising and I believe INEC owes the people of Lagos a lot of answers and very quickly too.
At the conclusion of voters registration exercise before the 2011 elections, the number of registered voters in Lagos as announced by INEC itself was 6,247,845 (Six Million, Two Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Five).
This was an exercise conducted by INEC. This was an exercise where INEC announced to Nigerians that it has secured an Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to ensure the credibility of the Voters Register.
INEC owes us a duty to explain how 1,447,845 (One Million, Four Hundred and Forty Seven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty Five) voters disappeared from among 6,247,845 registered voters announced by INEC before 2011 elections which now leaves Lagos with only 4,800,000 (Four Million, Eight Hundred Thousand) registered voters.
Is this the beginning of a plan to disenfranchise Lagosians from exercising their rights to choose their own representatives?
Is something more sinister in the offing to frustrate the choice of Lagosians as we have seen in other states?
Let me assert very clearly and categorically that our Government will vigorously stand on the side of every eligible and previously registered voter to have their names back on the Voters Register compiled in 2011 unless INEC can show legitimate reasons why this should not be so.
For those of our residents who did not register at the last election, or who were not 18 years old at the time but who have now reached that age and who want to register, the first phase of this exercise which is to issue voters card from 7th-9th of November 2014 is not for you, because a Voter’s Card is only produced from a previously existing register.
Please note that those of you who fall into the category of persons who have never registered or who were registered and cannot find their names, will have the opportunity to register for the first time, or to re-register in the second phase which is for continuous voters registration starting from 12th November to 17th November 2014.
After the issuance of Permanent Voters Card for those who registered at the last election or who voted, then INEC will start a process of continuous voters’ registration.
This will happen in the second phase of the programme announced by INEC.
So for clarity and emphasis, for 3 days, from Friday the 7th day of November 2014 to Sunday the 9th day of 2014, I urge all residents, registered in Lagos to make time to go to their registration or voting centres to collect their Permanent Voters Card.
It is your right and it is free.
When that exercise of collection of Voters’ Card is completed as Phase I, the exercise for registering new voters and those whose names are not found on the register even though they registered before, will commence on Wednesday the 12th day November 2014 and end on Monday the 17th day November 2014.
I urge employers of labour to be flexible and accommodating to allow workers to close early on Friday the 7th of November, 2014. It is all for our collective good.
As for public servants, I hereby declare the Friday the 7th of November, 2014 shall be a work free day in order to enable workers carry out this civic duty and exercise their civic rights.
Again, I urge all employers in the private sector to consider and approve any similar flexibility that gives this opportunity to their employees.
The prosperity and the brighter rewarding future that we all seek; for ourselves and our children over the next four years, will be determined by what we do in the next few days.
The time that we sacrifice over these few days cannot be too much a price to secure a better future over 4 years and beyond.
I wish you all very well as we take these decisive steps towards strengthening our democracy, giving a voice to our people and rebuilding our nation.
God bless you all.
Long Live Lagos State and long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Eko o ni baje!
Babatunde Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State
