Prof. Chukwuemeka Francis Ezeonu's strides in Imo State INEC, registers 7000 voters per week for 2019 elections
EZEONU MAKES SHOCKING VISITS TO INEC
REGISTRATION CENTERS
When Prof. Chukwuemeka Francis Ezeonu was
appointed to man INEC Imo State office as the Resident Electoral Commissioner,
in July 2017; the distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology
came prepared, not just from the world of books, research and academics; but as
a disciplined scholar whose mind has been trained through research resilience -
to deconstruct an establishment like INEC. It is pertinent to state the major
ordeal plaguing the Nigerian civil service is not issuing directives, but
devoting time to supervise what has been done.
In less than two weeks of his assumption
of duty, Ezeonu toured the 27 Local Government Areas of Imo State, to have a
firsthand assessment of men and materials, on ground, under his control. It is
the feelers from the field that the distinguished professor used to design the work
plan that has placed INEC Imo State on the public spot light, especially as the
Commission prepares for 2019 election.
In preparation for the first and second
Continuous Voter Registration (CVR),
Ezeonu painstakingly moved from one department to the other at the INEC
headquarters, along Portharcourt Road in Owerri, and warned truants to sit up,
or hand in their resignation letters. Fully aware that most permanent staff of
INEC operate as adhoc. The new REC challenged staff lukewarm attitude to work.
Armed with sound and enviable administrative cues, from the academia, he
employed administrative mechanisms enshrined in INEC conditions of service to call
erring staff to order. Within a space of three months, dereliction of duty
became a thing of the past in INEC Imo State. Just as expected, the management
staff threw their support behind the new REC. He arrives office by 7:30 am
daily and by 8 am moves from one department to the other, in search of staff that are
not seated on their official sit - an act for which some staff jokingly refer
to as 'ward round'.
The third phase of Continuous Voter
Registration exercise commenced on January 8, 2018; at the various mobile
wards. After several meetings with the Electoral Officers to adhere to the
rules governing the registration exercise, Ezeonu marched to the field, as
usual, to see things for himself. On Monday, January 15, 2018, without prior
notice, Ezeonu whose presence is perceived as apparition appeared at Mbaitoli
and Njaba LGAs. On Tuesday, January 16, 2018, he visited Owerri North and
Owerri Municipal LGAs. And on Thursday January 18, 2018, he went to Orlu,
Nkwerre and Isu LGAs. In his team are staff from ICT department to ensure that
any technical issue being experienced at the registration ward is immediately
addressed. He interacted with the people that came to register, his staff and
people living around the registration center. The ongoing CVR exercise has
recorded huge success. From the initial paltry 1, 500 registered voters per
week to 7000.
Prof. Chukwuemeka Francis Ezeonu's strides in Imo State INEC, registers 7000 voters per week for 2019 elections
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Sunday, January 28, 2018
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