Masaba wants a voting unit for his 5,000 family members
Headlines Monday, February 7th, 2011Resident Electoral Commissioner in Niger State, Dr. Emmanuel Onucheyo, has revealed that Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Bello Masaba, the octogenarian with about 5,000 familiy members had officially written to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, earlier before the commencement of the registration exercise of the need to create a new voting unit for him.
However, the REC noted that “since creation of additional units is a constitutional matter, there is nothing I can do to satisfy his demand.”
Disefranchised till 2015
He exonerated the Commission from the denial of more than 80 wives of the controversial octogenarian man from Bida in Niger State, from registering in the just concluded voters’ registration exercise.
Besides the over 80 of his wives who were not registered, another batch of about 4,000 including his children and other dependants did not register in Bida.
The commissioner in an interview with journalists in Minna, said though it was wrong for members of the community to have denied him or any eligible voter from registering, those disenfranchised would have to wait till 2015 before they can vote again.
He said since they were unable to be captured in the just concluded registration exercise, they would not have the right to vote in the April general elections.
‘INEC not aware of fight’
Dr. Onucheyo explained that while the fracas between the family members of the octogenarian was going on over the registration in Bida, weekend, the commission was not informed, thereby making it difficult for it to intervene.
Dr. Onucheyo said since registration was a continuous exercise, those unable to be registered should wait till after the elections and be registered and would be eligible to vote in the future elections.
It would be called that last Saturday in Bida town, no fewer than eighty wives of the over 80yrs old man, Alhaji Masaba, his children and some members of his family were disallowed from being registered at the Masaba “A” ward.
Besides being disallowed to register, they were also attacked by some hoodlum, at the registration centre.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that dangerous weapons were freely used by the hoodlums during the attack which led to scores of people from the two warring parties seriously wounded.
It was however gathered that the octogenarian and some of his wives have successfully registered at the same polling unit on Friday before the other wives and his other relatives were denied their rights by the hoodlums the second day.
Meanwhile, the legal Adviser to the octogenarian Barrister Mohammed Jibrin has condemned the assault on members of the Masaba family and accused the police of negligence pointing out that the attach was in the presence of the police who refused to take action.
He has threatened to take a legal action against the Area Commander of the police.
Barrister Jibrin confirmed that no fewer than 20 members of Masaba family were seriously injured during the free for all fight.
-Vanguard
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