Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara State has decried poor response of the people to the collection of permanent voter cards (PVCs).
The commission said from 2011 to 2019, it had 233, 856 uncollected PVCs, adding that “out of this, only 20,752 were collected as at October this year, leaving over 193,000 uncollected.
“Of the 46,602 new PVCs received from the INEC headquarters, only 18,885 have been collected, with a balance of 27,602 awaiting collection.
“We are still having a lot of challenges in the state in terms of PVCs collection,” Resident Electoral Commission (REC) Attahiru Madami has said.
He spoke yesterday in Ilorin at a stakeholders’ meeting ahead of the 2023 general election.
On incident PVCs collection, Madami said the state had 20,506, adding that only 6,055 had so far been collected, with 14,451 yet to be collected.
He said the state had 43,008 invalid registration figures, one of the least, according to him, in the country.
The REC said the state had 1,689,288 registration figures, as opposed to 1,401,895 in 2019.
“Completed registration figures are 330,401 and valid registration figures are 287,393,” he said.
Police Commissioner Paul Odama warned politicians not to “feed” their supporters with hard drugs.
He said: “Politicians should do well to embark on issue-based campaigns and not personality-based campaigns. They should ensure their followers are civil in their actions. They should shun thuggery and damage to billboards of opposing parties.
“As enshrined in the Electoral Law, vote-buying and selling will not be allowed.
“We will do all within our power to support and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure our democracy is rooted in the country.
“Finally, the police and other security agents have, at different times, strategised on how the elections will be free and credible.”