News Release: Stop Further Election Postponement, Don't Truncate Our Nascent Democracy

Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development(FENRAD) in collaboration with Coalition of Abia State Civil Society organization Held a news conference on the postponement of Elections and the Hurdles before INEC Ahead of the March 28th Presidential Election and the Governorship election on 11th of April 2015.

Ahead of the General Election as it affects Abia State, Various concerns were raised and INEC was charged to:

1.Distribute the Permanent voters cards across the Wards and Polling units in the State,The Distribution should not be concentrated in the LGA INEC Offices, The Distribution should be moved to the polling units and wards to make it easy and accessible to voters to collect their voters cards before the March 8 Deadline

2.INEC should produce Enough Training Manuals for the Election for the Adhoc staff to get more better understanding of the Electoral process especially on how to use the Card Readers, Because it is reported that ICT Personnel in the State could not updates the smart card software including those of them trained in china to operate the system.

3. Conduct training and Simulation exercise for the INEC officials that would be directly involved in the conduct of the Elections. Conduct Training of the Adhoc Staff on the Card Readers and other Facets of the Election in the State

4. Deploy Enough Card Readers to the state with enough Backup batteries

5.Supply Enough Stationery to the state or decentralize its procurement
Revisit the PVC Distribution and address the issues of stolen PVCs and Other Electoral offense like destruction of Bill boards of opponent Parties. Monitor the issues of campaign financing and Abuse of the state Administrative Resources in line with the provision in the Electoral Acts

6. Build a stronger synergy with the Security Agencies in line with INEC Election security inter agency consultative committee

7. Urged the State Resident Electoral commissioner to immediately convene a larger stakeholders’ forum to brief all strata of Abia state socioeconomic lives on the INEC Preparedness on the conduct of the Election and the level of the PVC Distribution in the state.

Finally commended the Peace Accord initiated by the Commissioner of Police Abia State to bring all political parties candidates to sign a Peace Accord to ensure that Elections in the state is void of electoral crisis and other anti social activities.

Signed;

Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor,
Executive Director,
Foundation For Environmental Rights,Advocacy & Development(FENRAD)
Plot 101 jubilee Road, By mosque Street, 1st Floor, Front , Aba, Abia State.
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE;
Plot 11/13 Ezillo Avenue, Independence Layout,Enugu,Enugu State;
Tel;08033383708,08093077657,08115405404
Email;fenradnigeria@yahoo.com,info.fenradnigeria@gmail.com. www,fenradnigeria.org(in view)
Skype; comrade Nelson Nwafor.