{"id":51167,"date":"2023-02-01T15:37:10","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T14:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=51167"},"modified":"2023-02-01T15:37:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T14:37:10","slug":"internally-displaced-persons-who-remained-in-maiduguri-after-camps-were-closed-dont-know-where-or-even-if-they-will-be-able-to-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/internally-displaced-persons-who-remained-in-maiduguri-after-camps-were-closed-dont-know-where-or-even-if-they-will-be-able-to-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Internally displaced persons who remained in Maiduguri after camps were closed don\u2019t know where \u2013 or even if \u2013 they will be able to vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

Internally displaced persons (IDPs), who remained in Maiduguri after the Borno State government shut down all the official IDP camps in the capital city, are worried that they might not be able to vote because they are now living in areas that are different from the addresses on their Permanent Voters cards (PVCs).<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

They said they did not even know if they could vote in Maiduguri and might have to return to their ancestral villages to exercise their constitutional right. They said if this was the case the government should pay for transport to get them back to their hometowns or they should organise polling booths in the city where they could vote.<\/p>\n

Modu Zarami told RNI that he was a displaced person originally from the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. Initially, he said, he lived in the Gubio IDP camp before it was shut down.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now I\u2019m living in a rented house here in Maiduguri. When we were living inside the camp, we had polling booths in strategic locations and we were able to participate and exercise our constitutional right to vote for any candidate of our choice in every election. But now the camps have been closed and some IDPs have resettled in their respective hometowns. They, at least, will be able to vote but we don\u2019t know if IDPs like us in Maiduguri will also be able to vote. \u201cWe are not in the same area as the polling booths in the vicinity of the camps and we are not in our hometowns, so we don\u2019t know if we will be allowed to vote. Where we live now is not captured on our PVCs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason we decided to stay in Maiduguri was that our hometowns are in remote villages which are inaccessible and security is still a problem. So, we decided to continue to live here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zarami said most of the IDPs had permanent voters cards (PVCs) but they were still not sure they would be able vote. He said there were not many of them left because most had returned to their hometowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I don\u2019t think our voices will be heard and we are worried that we won\u2019t be able to vote unless we return to our ancestral hometowns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya Fanna Mattaram, an elderly displaced woman, said: \u201cI\u2019m an IDP originally from Gajiganna town of the Magumeri Local Government Area of Borno State but I\u2019m now living in Maiduguri because of continuing insecurity in my hometown. During peacetime \u2013 before the insurgency \u2013 we participated in every election. But then we were displaced because we had to flee from rampaging insurgents.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we came here, as displaced people, we have not participated in any elections. I am asking the government to establish a polling booth here or to resettle us in our remote villages but with stringent security measures in place so that we can exercise our rights to vote in peace for the candidates of our choice in the coming elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abukar Modu said: \u201cI\u2019m a displaced person originally from Gulumba town in the Bama Local Government Area of Borno State. Initially, we used to live in the Dalori IDP camp before it was officially shut down by the government. Most IDPs from Bama have returned to their hometowns. Only a few of us decided to stay here in Maiduguri because, even if we returned, our remote villages cannot be accessed because of insecurity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were taking refuge at Dalori camp, there were polling booths provided by the government which enabled us to participate in every election. But now the camps have been shut down and the 2023 elections are already around the corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know if we will be able to vote because we are living in a different area to the camp. We are appealing to the government to address this issue by providing polling booths in the host community where we live so that we can vote. Either that or the government must provide free transportation to Bama so that we can vote there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abba Liberty, a public relations officer of the Borno State chapter of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told RNI that it was the commission\u2019s duty and responsibility to serve the public in the correct way so that they could exercise their right to vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose IDPs who registered and obtained their PVCs while taking refuge in various camps were using their cards to participate in every election until all the official camps were shut down by the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose IDPs should be informed that they can cast their votes in their respective polling units or polling stations as contained on their PVCs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of insecurity, we have held awareness campaigns and used various media organisations \u2013 radio, print and online \u2013 to explain voting procedures and where electorates, especially IDPs, can cast their ballots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberty said INEC had consulted with government officials, local authorities and security operatives and would organise a meeting to ensure IDPs and others obtained first-hand information and security tips on all the locations where voting could take place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working hand in hand with security operatives seeking their advice before informing the IDPs where they should cast their votes. Once we receive clearance from them, we will be able to inform people of a particular place where they can vote. That\u2019s our job.\u201d<\/p>\n

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Internally displaced persons (IDPs), who remained in Maiduguri after the Borno State government shut down all the official IDP camps in the capital city, are worried that they might not be able to vote because they are now living<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":50919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51167"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51168,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51167\/revisions\/51168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}