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Tag: Continuous Voter Registration (CVR)

  • Abia, Edo, Ebony, Ondo lag behind in CVR

    Abia, Edo, Ebony, Ondo lag behind in CVR

    •Borno maintains lead

    Four states – Abia, Edo, Ebonyi, and Ondo – have continued to lag behind in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 general election.

    While Abia has so far registered about 11,221 eligible voters online since the exercise began, Edo has registered 11,570, Ebonyi registered 13,979, and Ondo registered 17,618 after nine weeks of the online registration.

    But Borno, Osun, Lagos, Kebbi, Kaduna, and Ogun states have continued to maintain impressive turnout of eligible voters to register online for the exercise.

    Borno State, which has overtaken Osun in the online registration, has so far recorded 826,310 eligible voters, followed by Osun with 646,580, Lagos with 604,819, Kebbi with 581,135, Kaduna with 510,490, and Ogun with 510,062.

    Read Also: Tinubu approves new auditorium for Nigerian Law School

    Overall, the Northwest has registered more voters online in the last nine weeks than the other regions. It recorded 2,516,890 eligible voters.

    Coming second is the Southwest with 2,118,036 voters, the Northeast comes third with 1,549,905, followed by the Northcentral with 1,169,693, while the Southsouth and the Southeast recorded 487,456 and 159,986 eligible voters.

    Anambra State is currently not participating in the exercise, until after the November 8 governorship election in the state.

    Data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicated that 8,003,196 eligible voters have so far registered online in the dedicated portal for the CVR, while 1,710,450 have so far completed both the physical and online registration after eight weeks.

    Osun State maintained the lead in the physical registration with 151,593 voters completing the exercise, followed by the FCT with 106,858, Kano with 96,280, Imo with 90,469, Sokoto with 86,183, Lagos with 85,831 and Borno with 85,720.

  • 238,309 PVCs still unclaimed in Nasarawa State – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nasarawa on Thursday said 238,309 eligible voters in the state had yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards for the 2019 general elections.

    Addressing journalists in Lafia, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Uthman Ajidagba, said that the 238,309 were among the 1,436,768 registered voters in the state.

    Ajidagba said that a total of 1,198,459 eligible voters in the state had already collected their PVCs.

    He said that 370,549 voters were registered in the recently suspended Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the state.

     Read Also: Nasarawa: PDP governorship candidate picks running mate

    The REC urged registered voters to visit INEC offices in the various local government areas to collect their cards in order to be qualified to vote for candidates of their choice on election day.

    He said that the recent Osun governorship election, where the margin between two leading contenders was very slim, was an eye opener that every vote matters in an election.

    Ajidagba charged the political parties to sensitive and mobilize their supporters to collect their PVCs.

    He also appealed to all registered voters in the state to go to their various polling units to verify the names on the voters register pasted there in order to effect necessary corrections.

  • INEC to print 16.5m PVCs before 2019 general elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will print 16,500,192 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and make them available for collection by citizens ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the regular meeting of the commission with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) on Thursday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that for a period of 16 months, from April 27, 2017 to Aug. 31, it registered a total of 14,551,482 new voters for its nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

    He said if the figure was added to the existing register of 69,720,350 voters, it meant that the nation now had a voter population of 84,271,832.

    He explained that the figure might drop slightly after the commission must have run  the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

    “In addition to fresh registration, the Commission is also processing 769,917 requests for intra and inter-State transfers as well as 1,178,793 requests for replacement of lost, damaged or cards with misspelt names or incorrect personal details of voters as required by law.

    “This means that the Commission has to print a total of 16,500,192 PVCs and make them available for collection by citizens ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Read Also: INEC registers over 5 million eligible voters in Kano

    “Already, the Commission has printed the PVCs for those registered in 2017 and delivered them to states for collection.

    “I can also confirm that the PVCs for 2.7 million voters registered in the first quarter of 2018 have been printed and will be delivered to the states next week.

    “We wish to reassure Nigerians that every registered voter will have his/her PVC available for collection before the general election.

    “The collection of PVCs will continue until one week to the 2019 general elections. We shall ensure that the process of collection is simplified with minimum inconvenience to citizens.

    “We will also ensure that information about the collection of PVCs is widely disseminated.

    “Already, we are partnering with telecommunication companies to send bulk text (sms) messages to citizens for the collection of their PVCs’’.

    He added that after running the AFIS, the Commission would present a detailed analysis of the voter register, not only by state and gender, but also by age group and occupation.

    Yakubu appealed to Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the ongoing nationwide display of the particulars of new voters for claims and objections as required by law.

    “By doing so, citizens will be helping the Commission to further clean up the register and purge it of all ineligible registrants as required by Sec. 12 of the Electoral Act.

    “The Commission has consistently shared information on the voter registration exercise with Nigerians by publishing the figures as well as detailed breakdown by states and gender’’.

    Yakubu said that the meeting would consider consequential steps the commission needed to take as it continues to prepare for the 2019 general elections.

    He said that the Commission would also consider options to fast track the distribution of the PVCs before general elections, including the devolution of collection to Ward level.

    “We however wish to restate the Commission’s policy that no PVCs will be collected by proxy. Registered voters must endeavour to collect their cards personally.

    “We are working hard to ensure that no PVC goes into the wrong hands.

    On the commission’s  preparation for the Osun State Governorship election, Yakubu said all processes and activities were going according to our timetable and schedule of activities released almost a year ago.

    “The last major activity was the presentation of the Voters’ Register to each of the 48 political parties fielding candidates in the election, giving detailed information of the distribution of the 1.6 million registered voters by Local Government Areas, Wards and Polling Units’’.

    Yakubu said that the Commission had been working on a multi-faceted approach to the menace of vote-buying and other sundry electoral malpractices.

    “We will introduce changes to the election-day administration of our polling units, in addition to the electronic tracking of our sensitive materials.

    “We are discussing with the security agencies on a more vigorous enforcement of the law against voter-inducement.

    “Furthermore, we are working with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and other stakeholders on voter education and sensitisation.

    This is the third election we are conducting in Osun State since the 2015 general elections.

    “The first was the Ife Central State Constituency and the Osun West Senatorial District. We wish to reassure the people of Osun state that their votes will continue to count.”

    He assured Nigerians that the country’s elections would continue to meet the requirements of laws, processes and procedures as well as international best practice.

    NAN

  • INEC denies receiving N50m logistics support from Jigawa

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has denied a newspaper report that it recently received N50 million from the government of Jigawa for logistics.

    Dr. Mahmud Isah, the Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC ) in the state, made the clarification in a statement in Dutse, on Tuesday.

    Isah said that the commission had not received any form of support from the state government following the extension of the Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ) last month.

    “The attention of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Jigawa state has been drawn to a publication in Daily Trust of Tuesday, August 28, 2018 on page 4 captioned PVC: Jigawa supports INEC with N50m.

    “The INEC Jigawa state office wishes to state in clear terms that it has not received any form of support/assistance from the state government during the extension period of the PVC/CVR exercise.

    “The publication came to us as a surprise, as the commission since the commencement of the CVR in April 2017 to date, has been adequately funded by the national office.

    “Hence, there is no reason why to lean on Jigawa state government or indeed any organisation for any form of logistic support,’’ Isah said.

    He however stated that the state office of INEC holds the state government in high esteem as a major stakeholder in election matters.

    Read Read: IPAC tasks INEC on Osun governorship election

    But, he disagreed with the comment of state Deputy Governor on the issue of extending logistic support to it as contained in the publication by Daily Trust Newspaper.

    The REC, therefore, urged the general public to regard the publication as baseless, unfounded and not true.

    “In furtherance to this position of the office, we are calling on all politicians in the state to desist from making unguarded statements capable of truncating our democracy.

    “We also want call on all media houses to always crosscheck their stories before going to press,” he added.

    He said that INEC in the state remained resolute in its maintenance of transparency, credibility, fairness in all its electoral duties that will meet national and international standards.

    “We will continue to maintain our neutrality at all times as an independent electoral umpire,” he emphasised.

  • No extension of voter registration beyond Aug. 17 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the Aug. 17 deadline for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will not be extended.

    The commission said the exercise would resume after the 2019 General Elections scheduled from Feb. 26 and March 2.

    Mr. Mohorret Bigun, Public Affairs Officer of INEC in Gombe told our reporter on Wednesday that the exercise would henceforth include weekends and public holidays to allow for more people to register beginning from Aug.1.

    Read Also:EFCC arraigns PDP chief, INEC officials for alleged N179.8m fraud

    He said INEC was not planning to extend the exercise beyond Aug. 17 as being anticipated in some quarters.

    “There will be no extension of ongoing registration beyond the Aug. 17 deadline. Those who are anticipating extension should go and
    register.

    “From Aug. 1, we are going to operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday. This is to give room for those who are yet to turn up
    for the exercise.

    “We have been directed to suspend the registration of voters until the 2019 general elections are concluded,’’ Bigun said.

    He said the commission decided to suspend the exercise till next year to enable it to produce the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)
    for distribution.

    “The commission would not want to deny anyone the right to vote; hence the need to suspend the exercise temporarily to prepare
    for the general elections in 2019.’’

    According to him, 141,345 persons, comprising 55,407 (39 per cent) females and 85,947 (61 per cent) males have so far registered as at July 30.

    He appealed to those who were yet to register to take advantage of the adjustment in the timetable.

  • CSOs urge eligible voters in Anambra to register with INEC

    Civil Society Organisations ( CSOs ) have called on eligible voters in Anambra to register with the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) before the end of the current phase of the Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ).

    The groups made the call in Awka during a one-day sensitisation workshop on Electoral Participation for youths on Sunday.

    Mrs Chioma Okeke, Coordinator, Shoulder for Gender Support and Development Initiative, decried the level of political apathy in Anambra and the South-East.

    Okeke called on the participants, mostly youths, to avail themselves with the window provided by the ongoing CVR and register.

    She said some of the identified challenges in registration of voters in Anambra include: absence of INEC registration officials at advertised venues, alleged extortion of those wishing to register by officials and non collection of Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ).

    “INEC has to do more to cover eligible voters in the ongoing registration process, while in some places, efforts are made to register people even up to going to their houses, here people go to designated places and the officials are not there,” she said.

    On his part, Mr Chukwuma Chukwura, Coordinator of Kingsfaith Development and Youth Empowerment Initiative, expressed concern that people could not take time off their daily routine to register or collect their PVCs at INEC office.

    He said the number of eligible voters said to have registered in Anambra was a far cry from the population of voters in the state.

    “It is a serious source of worry for us how our youths behave when it comes to politics.

    “They are very active on social media , posting all sort of things about Nigeria and some individuals but in practice, they are not doing anything; common registering to vote, they will not, for those that manage to register, go and get your PVC, no way.

    “Worse still, on the day of election you see them playing football and drinking at joints because they feel it is not their business, that is why very small per cent of them voted in the last governorship election in Anambra.

    “What we are saying is that INEC, the political class and communities should encourage those who have not registered to do so before the time is up,” he said.

    Addressing the participants, Mr Leo Nkedife, Head, Public Relations Department of INEC in Anambra , corroborated the CSOs’ observation that the turnout of people in the state for the CVR was poor.

    Nkedife urged the people to take advantage of the exercise to register, saying that registration was free.

    He urged the people to report any of the commission’s official(s) who demanded money before registering them.

    Nkedife disclosed that only 22 per cent of the 2.15 million voters in Anambra participated in the Nov. 18, 2107 governorship election, and that over 142,000 PVCs were still awaiting collection at the INEC office in the state.

    He said INEC had greatly improved in the conduct of elections as people’s votes now count.

    Prof Collins Okafor of the Department of Political Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, blamed the political apathy among the people on lack of confidence in the Nigerian electoral process.

    Okafor said apathy include; refusal to register, refusal to belong to a political party, refusal to vote and refusal to protest against rigging and other electoral malpractice.

    He said those who did not participate in politics contributed more to the political and economic crisis in the country.

    NAN

  • PVC: Lagos emphasises need for collection

    The Lagos State Government on Friday emphasised the need for residents to take advantage of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ) to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVC ).

    The Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Mr Benjamin Olabinjo, at the ongoing Ministerial briefing on Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode’s third year in office in Alausa, also decried the number of uncollected PVCs in the state.

    The newsmen reports that Lagos State has the highest number of uncollected PVCs, with no fewer than 1.4 million yet to be collected by residents.
    “Let me emphasise here that to remain apathetic to this exercise is a self-denial of the inalienable right to vote for candidates of your choice when it is time to do so.

    “I want to seize this opportunity to enjoin those who have yet to register to take advantage of the ongoing exercise to do so now.
    “It is important for all adults of voting age to participate in the political process that will produce those that will be at the helm of affairs in the polity,” Olabinjo said.

    He said that the office would continue to intensify efforts at enlightening residents to seize the opportunity of the ongoing CVR to obtain their PVCs.
    According to him, the enlightenment would particularly be for those who have attained voting age and others who have relocated from their previous abode.
    He also said that in the course of the year, the office wouldensureenlightenment of residents on the need for peaceful electioneering in the state.

    Olabinjo said that in the last three years, the office had engendered cordial working relationship between the legislative and the executive arms of government. The special adviser said that 27 bills passed by the House Assembly were assented to by Gov. Ambode during the period under review.

    Read Also: 2019: Lagos lawmakers rally support for Gbajabiamila

    He said the office simplified and translated eight laws into Pidgin, Yoruba and Egun languages, to facilitate easy understanding and voluntary compliance.
    Olabinjo, who said the office was in the process of embarking on sensitising residents on more laws of the state, promised that other bills would also be looked into for translation and simplification.

    “Let me use this opportunity to enjoin all to always respect public laws so as to maintain peace and order in the state,” he said.
    Olabinjo said the office attended to 119 issues arising from petitions and complaints from individuals, groups and communities.
    In support of the needy, Olabinjo said that N254.750 million was disbursed to 2,046 beneficiaries by the office in the last three years.
    He said that 108 communities were engaged while their requests include provision of facilities such as roads,street lights, drainage, health centres and schools.

    NAN

  • PDP member tells electorate to obtain Permanent Voter’s Card

    A Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) chieftain in Plateau, Mr Gwaman Datong, has urged the electorate to take part in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ) to empower them for voting in the 2019 general elections.

    In a statement issued in Abuja by him on Friday, he said taking part in the exercise was the only way the electorate could have their choice of leaders.

    “I have been going round and meeting people telling them to make sure that they get registered and obtain their Permanent Voter’s Card ( PVC ).

    “This is because we can’t make the change we desired without getting the PVC,’’ Dalong, who is seeking PDP’s nomination to contest the state governorship election in 2019.

    He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) to engage in more aggressive campaign towards sensitising the electorate to CVR.

    “We need strong running system that will give constant information, especially those at the grassroots on the exercise,’’ Datong said.

    Stating his plan for the state if he became the governor of Plateau, Datong said his vision was to lay a solid foundation for the development of the state.

    “We will start by encouraging science education right from primary school because am looking at building for the future.

    “We are going to encourage going to the sciences because in the nearest future, we will have people to build the future for Plateau.

    Read Also: Southwest PDP tackles APC

    “Am not looking at the agricultural sector in terms of produce alone but how do we process the produce a little to add value.

    “I visited an incubation centre in Jos and I was shown carrot oil, I was surprised, because this is what we can harness as we have lots of carrots in the state.

    “So if we can work towards processing our carrots to a certain level, we will make lots of money from both internal and export market.

    “We also have lots of yam in the state, people come and buy them remove the water and send them back to us as yam powder; we can start processing them locally to make extra money,’’ Datong said.

    “Similarly, emphasis should be on women development programmes because women constitute more than 50 per cent of the population in the state,’’ Datong said.

    NAN

  • Voter registration: Umahi declares April 20 work-free day

    Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi state has declared Friday, April 20,work- free day to enable civil servants in the state register and collect their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ).

    Mr Hygenius Nwokwu, Secretary to State Government, via a statement issued on Thursday in Abakaliki, said Umahi declared the work-free day in exercise of powers conferred on him by the Public Holiday Act.

    According to Nwokwu, the governor “declared one day work-free day to avail all civil servants in the state opportunity to participate in the important exercise’’.

    According to him, “Pursuant to Section (2), subsection (2) of the Public Holidays Act, His Excellency, Executive Governor of Ebonyi has graciously declared Friday April 20, work-free day.

    “This is to enable public and civil servants to go home, register and obtain their PVCs in the ongoing voter registration exercise.

    “The governor is deeply concerned with the success of the registration in the state and is committed to ensuring that all eligible voters in the state register and collect their PVCs ahead of 2019 elections.

    “We urge every eligible voter in the civil and public service of the state to explore this opportunity to go home, register and obtain their voter cards, “Nwokwu said.

    NAN

  • INEC swears in seven new RECs

    Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has sworn in seven new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) bringing the total number of serving RECs in the commission to 33.

    Performing the ceremony on Tuesday in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, expressed confidence that the new RECs would contribute to the commission’s determination to make 2019 general elections the best in the country.

    He said “with the track records of service in the academia, public service and private sector, it is gratifying to note that the new RECs made positive contributions to the society in various ways.

    “I am equally delighted to note that some of you have managed elections at national level as RECs.

    “I am confident that you will bring to bear on your new assignments, the experience of the recent past that will contribute to our determination to make the 2019 general elections our best elections in Nigeria.”

    Yakubu advised the new commissioners to maintain openness and consultations, as well as be firm and courageous in carrying out their new assignments.

    The chairman disclosed that in addition to the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, the commission would be conducting four bye-elections this year to fill vacancies.

    These, according to him, include Takum state constituency in Taraba, Lokoja/Koton-Karfe Federal Constituency in c, Bauchi South Senatorial District, and Kastina North Senatorial District in Kastina State.

    The INEC boss reassured newly registered voters in the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ) of getting their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) before the 2019 general elections.

    He added that “we have consistently reassured the public that for those who registered in 2017, their PVCs would be available for collection in the first week of May 2018.

    “Those who registered in the first quarter of this year, that is between January and March, as well as those who are registering right now in the second quarter of this year, would collect their cards thereafter.”

    Yakubu also reassured the public and those who applied for replacement of their PVCs that their cards would be available for collection before the 2019 general elections.

    Read Also: Wanted: An ‘independent’ INEC

    “For those who registered in Ekiti and Osun in 2017 and 2018, priority attention was given to the production of their PVCs, such that all the cards would be available ahead of the July 14 and Sept. 22 governorship elections,’’ he said.

    Responding on behalf of the new RECs, Mr Segun Agbaje, representing Ekiti State, pledged the new commissioner’s readiness to justify the confidence reposed in them.

    He said “by the grace of God, we shall finish well.”

    He expressed confidence in the leadership of Yakubu, saying “with your style of leadership, we would
    not be surprised if 2019 elections turned out to be the best elections in the country.”

    The new RECs are: Mr Baba Yusuf and Mr Segun Agbaje, representing Borno and Ekiti states for second term.

    Others are Dr Uthman Ajidagba, Kwara;  Yahaya Bello, Nasarawa State; Dr Emmanuel Hart, Rivers; Mohammed Ibrahim, Gombe and Dr Cyril Omorogbe, Edo.

    NAN