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Tag: Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)

  • 218,000 PVCs still not collected in Ekiti – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in Ekiti on Wednesday said that 218,000 Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) were yet to be collected in the state.

    The commission said this just as it formally issued a “Notice of Election”, which stated that the governorship election would hold in the state on July 14.

    It said that this was in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Law.

    The INEC’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Alhaji Taiwo Gbadegesin, disclosed this at a public enlightenment forum in Ado Ekiti.

    He, however, said that not less than 500,000 PVCs had far been collected by their owners.

    Gbadegesin advised those who were yet to pick their PVCs to do so, saying that they would be disenfranchised during the forthcoming election without the PVCs.

    He said that the 500,000 PVCs already collected by would-be voters did not put an end to those that would be qualified to vote in July.

    He said that the PVCs for those that registered between April 2017 and date  were yet to be delivered to the state from its national headquarters in Abuja.

    The INEC image-maker said that the cards would be distributed to their owners as soon as they were delivered to the Ekiti State office of INEC.

    Gbadegesin said that university students and youth corps members, who had completed their stay in the state and had since left, might be those who had not collected their PVCs.

    Alternatively, he said that the commission was also suspecting persons who might have done double registration.

    They might be afraid that they could be arrested if they showed-up at the state office of INEC for collection, he said.

    Gbadegesin said that the commission would still sensitise would-be voters ahead of the election.

    The PRO also called on the various political parties to sensitize their followers and party members on the need for them to collect their PVCs.

    NAN

  • Unclaimed PVCs: INEC seeks Alaafin’s intervention

    Mr Mutiu Agboke, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) Oyo State, has urged the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, to assist the commission over unclaimed Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ).

    Agboke made the call on Wednesday when he paid courtesy visit to the traditional ruler in his palace at Oyo, Oyo State.

    He appealed to the traditional ruler to prevail on his subjects whose PVCs were still in INEC custody to collect them.

    According to him, 648,840 unclaimed PVCs are still in the custody of the commission.

    He urged the Oba to use his position as father of all to reach out to other traditional rulers in the kingdom to sensitise their people on the need to collect their voter cards.

    Agboke reiterated the commitment of the commission in conducting free, fair and credible elections in 2019.

    The REC assured the Alaafin and the people of Oyo State that the commission would continue to be unbiased and impartial umpire.

    He said “it now behooves on eligible voters to collect their PVCs, which is their voting power to elect those that will govern them.”
    He urged eligible voters who had yet to register to visit INEC offices in their respective local government areas to register, saying the second phase of the exercise would begin on April 3.

    Adeyemi assured INEC of effective support to ensure that people participated fully in the electoral processes.

    The Oba promised to mandate other traditional rulers in his kingdom to create awareness for the collection of voter cards.

    He urged the REC and his management team to fullfil its pledge in conducting free, fair and credible elections.

    He also urged Nigerians to cooperate with INEC for credible elections come 2019.

    “We must support the commission to give us credible polls, your vote is power and you must not sell it.

    “My appeal also goes to women to participate actively in the elections because of the future of your children.

    “Your participation will give way to credible leaders that will provide good governance.

    “Youths should abstain from hooliganism or anything that can cause disturbance to the electoral processes.

    “Observers from different parts of the world would be sent to monitor the elections: we must demonstrate that we are civilised people and justify the confidence reposed in us as Nigerians.”

    NAN

  • Over 250,000 PVCs uncollected in FCT – INEC

    Over 250,000 PVCs uncollected in FCT – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) on Wednesday said over 250, 000 Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) were yet to be collected by registered voters in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT ).

    Mrs Ndidi Okafor, Head, Voter Education and Publicity, Gender and Civil Society Liaison, INEC, FCT, made this known in Abuja that the rate of PVC collection in the area was low.

    Okafor said that the uncollected PVCs were from the 2011, 2014, and 2016 voter registration by the commission in the territory.

    She said, “we are appealing to Nigerians to please come and collect their PVCs; it is not just enough to come and register, you have to complete the process by collecting your card.

    “We are doing a lot of partnerships with different organizations to create awareness on this; we go to churches and mosques to do advocacy and we even visit traditional rulers to help us talk to their subjects.

    “However, the commission cannot do this alone; political parties have a strategic role to play, so we urge them to talk to their supporters to send down these messages to the grassroots.’’

    Okafor appealed to Nigerians not to be discouraged by the long queue they met at voter registration centres, assuring that INEC was working out how to make the exercise hitch-free.

    She urged Nigerians to be more patient with the process “because it is their right to register and vote’’.

    “We need to be supportive of this process so that we can all register.

    “The wisdom here is that no matter how long these queues are, they get cleared up early because not everyone there is for registration.

    “Some people are just there to transfer their voter cards, while others are for corrections. So, ideally nobody is supposed to spend up to five minutes on the queue,’’ she explained.

    Okafor said that the registration centres in the FCT had been increased from 22 to 32 and urged people to go and register.

    She said that on April 27, 2017 when the exercise started, FCT had only six registration centres, but that due to stakeholders demanded, 16 new centres were added.

    She added that 10 more centres were recently created, bringing the number to 32 for the six area councils in the territory.

    Okafor said that INEC was also taking steps to increase the number of registration machines in the centres, especially in Abuja Municipal Area Council ( AMAC ), which had nine centres.

    She said that 10 machines and the scanners had also been deployed at the centres.

    NAN

  • INEC registers 95,434 voters in Niger, deploys 742 personnel

    INEC registers 95,434 voters in Niger, deploys 742 personnel

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in Niger on Thursday said it deployed 742 personnel to political wards across the state  to ensure massive registration of eligible voters.

    Prof. Samuel Egwu, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, made the disclosure in an interview in Minna.

    “We have so far registered about 95, 434 which consists of 61,867 males and 33,747 females and issued them with their permanent voters cards.

    “We also have 132,985 unclaimed PVCs, 366 seeking transfer and 163 un-printed and omitted cases, and 465 cases of lost of permanent voters cards.”

    He said that the commission is also attending to 553 cases of corrections in their permanent voters cards.

    “Those that had earlier registered and had not collected their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) should also come forward for collection in our offices across the 25 local government areas of the state,” Egwu added.

    The REC of INEC solicited the support of stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders in mobilizing eligible residents to participate in the ongoing Continuous Voters’ Registration in the state.

    “I urge media organisations to deploy all sustainable and effective mass media strategies to mobilise eligible voters to participate actively in the exercise.

    “We have also reached out to the leaders of various political parties to mobilise more eligible voters to register,” Egwu said.

    He said that educating eligible residents on the importance of acquiring PVC was necessary as it would allow them the opportunity to vote in future elections.

    NAN

  • INEC: EKiti, Osun guber polls timetable out Thursday

    INEC: EKiti, Osun guber polls timetable out Thursday

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would on Thursday release the timetable for Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections coming up in 2018.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that INEC had started preparations for the elections in the two states.

    “The end-of-tenure governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states will be conducted next year.

    “In keeping with the commission’s tradition of giving all stakeholders ample time to prepare, the timetable and schedule of activities for the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections will be released on Thursday,” Yakubu said.

    He added that INEC would on Saturday conduct bye-election in Eti-Osa state constituency in Lagos state.

    “Only yesterday, we received the official declaration of vacancy by the Honourable Speaker House of Representatives for the Kware/Wamakko Federal Constituency in Sokoto state.

    “The timetable and schedule of activities for the election would be released on Tuesday.”

    Yakubu said that as part of the preparation for 2019 general elections, which remained 505 days, the commission would continue to explore ways by which all processes associated with Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were improved upon.

    He said that so far 2,786,405 citizens have registered in ongoing CVR exercise of which 1,619,513 representing 58 per cent were males while 1,166,892 (42 per cent) were females.

    “In addition, 108,752 unclaimed permanent voters’ cards were collected.

    “The commission has also recorded 132,431 requests for transfer from original places of registration to new locations.

    “We also received 261,429 requests for replacement of PVCs that were damaged, defaced or wrong entries of personal and other details.”

  • APDA lauds CJN’s order on special courts for corruption cases

    APDA lauds CJN’s order on special courts for corruption cases

    The Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance ( APDA ) has commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen, on his order that special courts be established for corruption-related cases.

    The party in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Tosin Adeyanju, also applauded the whistle blower policy of the Federal Government.

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria had directed heads of various divisions of courts to establish a special court to tackle the delay in the hearing and determination of corruption and financial crime cases.

    Onnoghen also directed heads of courts to compile and forward to the National Judicial Council ( NJC ) comprehensive lists of all corruption and financial crime cases they are handling.

    APDA stated that the establishment of such special courts would help to fast track trial of corruption cases in the country.

    “The APDA lends its support to the Nigerian Judiciary under the headship of the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    “We commend Onnoghen and the Federal government by extension for the historic policy of establishing special courts to fast track the trial of corruption cases in our fatherland.

    “The APDA also wishes to commend the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for his unrelenting effort to bring all the persons who looted or aided in looting our commonwealth to justice.

    “We are of the unrepentant stance that corruption is the biggest challenge to the sustainable development of our country.

    “Only its eradication can return our nation back to the path of development, national cohesion and social inclusiveness.”

    APDA urged all Nigerians to stand up and expose corruption and corrupt practices in all ramifications.

    It commended Nigerians who spoke against the agents of destabilisation, while urging them to stand together and work towards a united, peaceful and prosperous nation.

    “APDA rejects hate speech and hateful conduct.

    “We urge the relevant agencies to resist agents and promoters of hate speech, impunity and disregard for our ethics and values.’’

    The party also urged all Nigerians to get their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs ) and ensure that only credible persons were voted into positions of public trust.

  • INEC Chief urges residents to collect unclaimed PVCs in Ondo

    INEC Chief urges residents to collect unclaimed PVCs in Ondo

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ondo state has urged those who registered in 2016 Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) and the ones preceeding it without claiming the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to come and collect them at INEC offices in the 18 local government areas of the state.

    About 380,000 cards yet to be collected are in the custody of INEC in the state.

    Speaking in Akure, the INEC State Administrative Secretary, Alhaji Kabir Omosanya noted that the step was the only prerequisite to exercise their franchise during elections.

    According to him, a credible register of voters is the bedrock of free, fair and credible elections, stressing that international best practices require that such a register must continuously be updated to enhance its quality and making electoral process more inclusive.

    Omosanya hailed the present regime of Prof Mahmud Yakubu at the INEC for ensuring that a vital statutory injunction is fulfilled.

    He noted that Section 9 to 12 of the 2010 Electoral Act (As Amended) directs INEC to compile, maintain and update on continuous basis a National Register of Voters.

    However the INEC officer observed that all along, the actualization of the statutory injunction has not been realized, stressing that what the Commission did in the past was to organize Voter Registration exercise as it was exigent before every election.

    He said the Voter Registry and Information Communication Technology (ICT) Department have worked out the best modality for the conduct of the exercise nationwide.

    Also, the Supervising National Commissioner for Ondo state, Dr Adekunle Ogunmola said the exercise would be all the year round.

    He charged leaders of political parties across the country to encourage their members to participate in the national assignment.

  • Ondo: Politicians plan to clone PVCs – REC alleges

    Ondo: Politicians plan to clone PVCs – REC alleges

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ondo State, Mr Olusegun Agbaje on Thursday said raised alarm over plans to clone Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by some politicians ahead of the next month governorship election in the state.
    Agbaje said that such cloned cards would be detected by the card readers that would be deployed by Independent National  Electoral Commission (INEC).
    He warned that anyone caught in the act will be made to face severe punishment.
    The INEC boss said this buying and selling  the PVC will also face same consequences if caught in the act.
    “We hear people are cloning cards to cheat during the election. Cloned cards will not work.
    “The card readers will detect the cloned cards. Protect your cards, don’t sell Them,it is a criminal offence. There will be enough card readers, so that if any malfunctions it will be immediately
    replaced,” he said.
    The REC who used the occasion to debunked claims by the APC and Jimoh Ibrahim, alleging that top officials of the Ondo State INEC were compromised, said: “INEC has no preferred candidate for the coming election, anybody who wins will win fairly.”
    “INEC will not do anything that reduces the credibility it has built through the years.”
    While disclosing that his office had taken delivery of non-sensitive materials, which had been distributed to all the local government areas, Agbaje noted that no one would be allowed to vote without the PVC, adding that voting without card readers is a nullity.
    The National Commissioner in charge of Publicity and Voters Education, Mr Solomon Shoyebi said that about one million six hundred and fifty-nine eligible voters are to participate in the November 26, governorship.
    Shoyebi noted that 80 percent of the voters are youths between 18 and 40 years.
    He emphasised that the use of smart card reader is sacrosanct to the election urging the electorates to adhere strictly to all electoral guideline of the commission for the successful conduct of the poll.

  • Edo: INEC set to distribute PVCs  

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would commence distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to registered voters in Edo State on Friday ahead of Sept. 10 governorship elections.

    Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity at the commission, Mr Nick Dazang, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Mondayin Abuja.

    Dazang said that the distribution of the cards would be done from Friday to Sunday at Registration Areas and Wards across the state “for registered voters who are yet to obtain the PVC’’.

    “The distribution of PVC in Edo is tentatively and provisionally scheduled from Sept. 2 to Sept. 4.

    “This will afford the voters who have not collected their PVCs the opportunity to exercise their civic rights in the governorship election scheduled for Sept. 10,’’ Dazang said.

    He, however, advised registered voters in the state, including those that were registered in the recent exercise, to ensure that they collected the cards within the stipulated period.

    On preparation for the election, Dazang said that the commission was “fully ready’’ to conduct free, fair and credible poll in the state.

    He said that while the commission had already distributed the non-sensitive materials, the sensitive items would be moved from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) vault in Benin to the commission’s office for distribution on Wednesday.

    He assured that smart card readers would be distributed in time and well charged ahead for effective performance during polling.

    On security during the exercise, the director said that INEC had been meeting with security agencies under the platform of Inter- Agency Committee on Election Security (ICES).

    According to him, the security committee is working to ensure a secured election environment.

    “We are also having our final stakeholders meeting in Benin on Wednesday, to be addressed by the Chairman of INEC and the Inspector-General of Police as part of efforts to ensure that the election is peaceful,’’ he said.