The Founder of Lucky Ehiwuogwu Monye Foundation, Mr Lucky Monye, has renewed his appeal for the mass participation of Nigerians in the resumed Continuous Voter Registration Exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Monye spoke against the backdrop of the scant participation of Deltans in the exercise which resumed recently.
Data in the public domain showed that only 76,667 Deltans had registered so far.
Responding to the situation, Monye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State,said that it was vital for every eligible democratic patriot to participate in the exercise which is to mop up persons who have just attained the age of franchise, and others who had attained voting age earlier but could not register for whatever reason.
In a brief media chat by telephone on Thursday, he said that it was necessary for Nigerians who had yet to do so, to avail themselves of the opportunity of the resumed CVR to enable them to fully participate in upcoming general and by elections.
Monye, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer CEO of Monaco Ventures Nigeria Limited, said that without being registered by the INEC, any registrable citizen could not fully exercise his citizenship, especially franchise.
According to him, registration enables citizens to exercise their right of franchise, which is the right to vote and be voted for in a democracy.
Particularly, Monye appealed to registrable citizens in his native Ika Federal Constituency of Delta State to utilize the current window provided by INEC during the ongoing CVR to register to enable them to vote in upcoming polls.
He stressed that full participation in the CVR exercise would confer on those involved the right to vote and be voted for, as well as give a realistic picture of the tally of the electorate in the constituency.
Besides, he said , registration confers on a voter the moral right to constructively criticize leaders when they fall short in public expectation.
