By Kenechukwu Ofomah
The President of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, Anambra State Chapter, Mazi Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu on Wednesday, tasked residents of the state to take full advantage of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration, CVR Exercise, to equip them with their voters cards so they can participate as is expected during the November 8 2025 Governorship election in the state.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on Monday, July 8, commenced the CVR exercise across the 326 wards in the state, with a central station at the State INEC headquarters in Awka.
The CVR presents the opportunity for eligible citizens who just turned 18 to get their voters cards, while those who wish to transfer their voters cards, replace their old or damaged cards, as well as make other corrections to their biodata, can also do so.
Fresh registration must be done physically at designated INEC offices, while data revalidation or corrections can be done online.
During the 2021 Governorship Election that brought the incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo into power, only 250,000 voters participated in the election, out of the over 2.5 million registered voters in the state, according to data from the INEC.
Okpalaezeukwu, who spoke to newsmen after he monitored the CVR exercise in his country home, Nando Wards 1, 2 and 3, said the people should be worried about the gross voter apathy in the state, despite the level of political consciousness among the citizens.
He said the CVR exercise presents an opportunity for residents of the state to get their voters cards, so as to make them eligible to participate in the upcoming governorship election in the state.
The Ohaneze Ndigbo Anambra leader reminded the people that their vote is their power to guarantee good governance at the state helm of affairs, adding that exhibiting redundancy towards the process may spell negative prospects for the governance of the state.
“The statistics from the last governorship election in Anambra is a source of worry to us in the Ohaneze. We are worried because it goes a long way to specify how we are perceived politically in the country.
“We, at Ohaneze, believe that the country will begin to take us seriously, when they realize that we are politically-conscious. If we continue in laissez-faire attitude towards elections, we cannot be counted in the nation’s political bloc.
“It is also important that our understand that idea of any leader we want to enthrone will continue to remain a thought in our minds until we move in action with our votes,” he said.
Okpalaezeukwu revealed that Ohaneze Ndigbo Anambra Chapter has activated its structure at the Local Government levels to deepen the message for the people to participate in the CVR exercise.
He also said the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization has also intensified media advocacy towards the end, expressing the hope that the people will harken to the voice of reason and make use of the opportunity provided by the CVR exercise to prepare for elections in the country.
“Voter card is the only gateway to defining our democracy and protecting the future of the state and Nigeria at large.
“I therefore call on our people to endeavour to secure their cards and be ready to use them when the right call beckons,” he posited.
