Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lamented the non-collection of 111,618 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in Borno state.
According to the Commission, currently there are 114, 531 old PVCs including 13, 715 new ones issued last year; are also not collected by the eligible voters.
Commencing the PVCs distribution, over the weekend (Friday) at a meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), in Maiduguri, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Muhammad Magaji Ibrahim, disclosed: “The 2023 general elections will be conducted in the preliminary registers of eligible voters.”
He said the forthcoming general elections will hold on February 25, and March 11, 2023 for Presidential and National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections respectively.
Ibrahim, represented by the Head of Voters Education and Publicity (VEP), Shaibu Ibrahim said: “At the end of the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) and the automated bimodal identification system (ABIS), the registration figures rose from 2.32 million to 2.51 million voters in the state.”
He said after the fresh CVRs from June 2021 to July 2022; the registration figures stood at 198,272 in the state.
Continued; “We’ve just received 54,949 replacements and transfers of PVCs,” adding that this is the Commission’s drive to ensure massive collection of the cards.
According to him, the timetable for collecting the PVCs in the 312 registration areas commences from January 6 to 16, 2023, while distribution in the 27 Councils INEC offices, is slated for January 16 to 22, 2025 when the collection of PVCs will end.
“After the January 22, 2023 deadline, PVCs collection will be suspended until after the general elections across the country,” he said.
He, therefore, urged the IPAC stakeholders to mobilize and educate the electorates on the collection of their PVCs.
He assured that the cards at the councils’ offices have all been scanned to facilitate their collection under the 2022 Electoral Act.
He warned that any person who is unlawful possession of any voters card whether issued in the name of any voter or not or sells or attempts to sell or offers to sell any voters card is liable for conviction to a fine of N500, 000 or jailed for two years or both.
On whether or not there should be electronic voting, he said: “However; there will be electronic accreditation and transmission of election results.”
He noted that the general public will view in real time election results via INEC Results Viewing portal (IReV) (www.inecelectionresults.ng).
End.
