Four Days to Polls-Nigerians are Hungry and Afraid.Oyo CSOs Representative

Hunger, fear and other forms of hardships now constitute the mindset of millions of Nigerians less than four days to the general elections. This assertion was made on Monday by the representative of Civil Society Organizations(CSO), Hadjia Aisha Ismail, at an enlarged stakeholders meeting organized by the Oyo state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)in Ibadan, Nigeria. ''People are hungry, people don't have what to eat, there is no fuel, they can't get anything from their neighbors, banks are not dispensing cash, Point of Sale(POS) shops are also not dispensing cash. The masses are afraid to come out, we have to go out to tell them not to be afraid to come out. We have told them that when there is trouble, they should go back home. Please, we don't want hooliganism. We must not vote for the wrong people in this election, Hadjia Ismail concluded. In his remark, the Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC) in the state, Dr. Adeniran Tella expressed worries over the flashpoints in the state, saying, ''the security agencies have assured them of adequate security before, during and after the elections. All hands must be on deck to achieve successful elections.'' The representative of the Inter Party Advisory Council(IPAC), Pastor Biodun Popoola appealed to political parties to act within the ambits of the law, adding ''let us educate our members. I also appeal to our religious bodies to pray more this time for God's intervention.'' However, the meeting got rowdy when the issue of the actual figure of collected and uncollected Permanent Voters Cards(PVC) was raised by a political party representative. The gathering dispersed when the organizers hurriedly brought the meeting to an end for another official engagement. No public holidays were set aside for Nigerians in Oyo state to collect their PVCs. In another development, the spokesman of INEC in the state, Mr. Awolowo has disclosed that the registration for the accreditation for Journalists that will cover the general elections in the state has closed. Overcrowding The additional population which has brought about overcrowding in several communities in Oyo state, has resulted in evil, lawlessness, crime, criminality and evil in those communities. Who are those responsible for the overcrowding? Nigerians continue to ask.