The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abia said it deployed over 100 registration machines for the Continuous Voter Registration in the state.

The Head, Public Affairs Unit of the commission in the state, Mr Bamidele Oyetunji, said this on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Aba.

Oyetunji said that the commission was sure that the machines were adequate to meet the number of prospective registrants.

He spoke against the backdrop of calls by the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) and Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) for the deployment of more machines in Abia.

The groups made the call after monitoring the CVR in the 17 Local Government Areas of the state.

They opined that the state needed more machines to ensure that no one was left out or disenfranchised.

They said that their findings showed that less than an average of five machines were deployed in each local government area.

According to them, this situation will make it difficult for the commission to register the huge number of residents trooping out for the exercise in the rural communities.

However, Oyetunji claimed that the registration at the local government levels was moving on smoothly.

“In Abia, we have over 100 machines and we cannot station a machine at one spot. If we do, the turnout of people would not be more than 10 in a whole day.

“But there must be at least one machine at the local government headquarters when our workers go to register residents in the hinterlands.

“My advice to Abia residents who have not registered is to use this window of opportunity to register. They should not wait again for last minute registration.

“Registration is their right and we encourage them to do it so that they would not disenfranchise themselves through delay,” Oyetunji said. (NAN)

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