To ensure his subjects are at vantage position to exercise their constitutional rights, the Olu of Idanyin Kingdom, a sprawling community in Ogun state, His Royal Highness, Oba Joshua Aminu, has urged both the state and local authorities to see to their quest to increase polling units for the community.
The monarch also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expedite action on ensuring that more of his subjects are politically fit to participate in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
The monarch of the community in Agbara-Igbesa Local Council Development Area, Ado-Odo/Otta, Local Government Area in Ogun State, who made the call in his palace recently said one of things his people have been asking for was the need to participate in the political process.
Joshua, the first monarch of the town, who will be celebrating his third anniversary on the throne on May 20, said he and the leaders of the community have been sensitising both indigenes and residents within the area, a step he said, has raised political consciousness of the people.
He said though INEC had recently increased polling units in the neighborhood from one to eight, however, noted that, the increase, notwithstanding, was still a far cry to meet the need of the people.
He said with the election coming in few in less than a year, it was imperative for the authorities to do the needful in order not to de-enfranchise his people from exercising their right.
He said: “Idanyin has eight communities. With our efforts, recently, INEC gave heed to our cries to increase the number of polling units in our town. Now, we have eight polling units. Notwithstanding, with the vastness of these communities, what is on ground is far too small to meet the need of the people.
“On our part, we have sensitized and mobilised our people, but the time allotted by INEC for the exercise was not sufficient.
“We have been engaging INEC and we will continue to do that until we achieve our desired results of increasing the polling units for the community.
“Though we thank INEC, but it is however, unfortunate that the last registration undertaken few days ago did not cover half of the community. If they give us two more weeks for the exercise, I doubt if we would cover the whole area, but, at least, that will go a long way to get our people politically empowered to exercise their right.
“For more than 20 years, we had just a polling unit in this town. Then, every member of the community had just a polling unit to exercise our political right.
“But, as God would have it, new polling units were introduced. And with support of the leaders and members of the community, that became a reality.
“To get that done, we approached INEC. It paid us off when the body came to visit out neighborhood and thereafter agreed with us that we deserved more than a polling unit.”
“That effort led to the creation of additional seven units, with the one we had had, now we have eight.
“INEC could have done more but it was glaring that it is bereft of gadgets, hence the body could not achieve much during the last exercise. We have been making efforts and we will continue to put more pressure on the authority to do more.
“It is on record that Idanyin has been leading others in our ward. In fact, during the last election, Idanyin came first. That tells you that despite the constraints, our people are willing and motivated as far as political activeness is concerned.”
TheNation
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