Maku rejects card readers

The governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance in Nasarawa State, Labaran Maku, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to discard the card
reader before the April 11 governorship election, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Maku made the appeal while fielding questions from newsmen on Saturday shortly after casting his ballot at Wakama Clinic Polling Unit of Nassarawa-Eggon Local Government Area of the state.

The former Minister of Information said, “My call on INEC to drop the use of the card reader is due to the failure of the machine already recorded in the ongoing Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“The card readers have turned out to be a factor frustrating millions of Nigerians who came out as early as 7am in all polling units across the country.”

He said in his polling unit at Wakama Clinic voters, who arrived at about 7am for accreditation waited until 3pm for the exercise to commence.

According to him, voters were denied accreditation after waiting on account that card readers have been programmed to stop accreditation at 1.30pm.

Maku said it was when voters in the polling unit agitated and wanted to resist the process that INEC officials resorted to manual method of accreditation.

“How would INEC programme the card reader machine to stop accreditation by 1.30 p.m. when the real election situation is not considered,” he said