Obi urges universities, INEC to allow students exercise voting rights

Peter Obi, the Labor Party (LP) presidential candidate, has urged universities across the country and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do the “right thing” by giving students a week off to fully participate in the upcoming general elections.

Speaking during a meeting with observers from the European Union, Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) in Abuja on Monday, Mr. Obi expressed concern that over three million Nigerian students who are eligible to vote may not be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote. if the leader is not supported.

He signaled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and university authorities should give students at least a week off to allow eligible students to participate in the electoral process because the election is about young people.

“I am sure INEC will do the right thing. I am sure the university will give them a break to vote. It is important because this is about the future. This election is about these young people and I am sure they will allow them to go and vote. We will continue to tell them when we’re running,” he said.

Mr. Obi also expressed concern over the inability of some Nigerians who are still facing difficulties in obtaining their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), especially in Lagos State.

On Monday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how Nigerians across the country going through harrowing experiences to collect PVCs.

“For me now, the important thing is to ensure that people collect PVC. There are some areas that still complain that they are denied PVC for one reason or another,” said Mr. Obi.

“INEC should pay attention (PVC collectors who are facing difficulties). But I have to give credit to INEC for extending the date for PVC collection but again I urge people to make sure that people collect their PVC.

“This election is very important for Nigerians. It is an existential election. We want all those who have registered to participate.

In his words, the National Chairman of the Labor Party, Julius Abure, said: “It is the youth who bear the brunt of maladministration, so this election is about them.”

He explained that, when the voter registration process was carried out, most of the students were at home and registered at home.

However, the party chairman said that the students are in school and if they stay in school during the election, it means they will be denied the opportunity to vote.

“So we ask for a week’s rest to be given a holiday to be able to vote. You are definitely not included if you have PVC and are not in a place that can be used to vote,” said Mr. Abure.

Insecurity concerns

The party chairman also expressed concern over insecurity in the country.

He said: “In general, this country is not safe. We want security to increase before and during the elections because if security is not guaranteed, we may have a situation where legitimate voters are afraid to go out on election days to vote.

Based on this, he said there is assurance that the security situation will improve in parts of the country.

“We have had situations where security agencies are used to rig elections or create an environment that can be manipulated for elections or in some cases facilitate vote buying,” Mr. Abure said.

Earlier, EU-EOM Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, told party leaders that the visit was to facilitate interaction with presidential candidates and other stakeholders in the upcoming February 25 presidential election.

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He said: “This is part of our work, we are holding meetings with all the stakeholders in this very important election in Nigeria. We have met with important participants including the Labor Party today. We also met with APC and PDP candidates.

“What we are doing is trying to develop an image of transparency, inclusiveness and credibility of the election. And we will report, two days after the election, in a preliminary report at a press conference on February 27.

“We are in the early stages. We have met and people have a collective feeling to expand the roots of democracy and we think we can be part of it, but we will not draw conclusions until after the elections.