The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Permanent Voters Cards

  • 2019 polls: Security operatives nab man with 2000 PVCs in Oredo

    Barely few hours to the rescheduled general elections, security agencies in Edo State, have apprehended one Edwin Edosomwan, in Iyekogba axis of Oredo Local Government Area, for being in possession of 2,000 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

    The PVCs, it was learnt, were purchased from residents in Iyekogba, Oredo Ward 2, but Edosomwan, who was nabbed on Thursday evening, claimed he was a mobiliser for one of the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contesting in today’s election.

    The development is coming less than 24 hours after a Benin-based research group, Edo Socio-Political Research Group, released findings of a study on PVC collection in the state, which showed that some candidates of the PDP had engaged in ‘systemic rigging.’

    In the study, it was discovered that there was a dubious rate of PVC collection in Oredo and Ovia North East, areas where the PDP candidates in the state would vote. The research showed that the two local councils were outliers in the rate of PVC collection, while the trend seemed normal in the 16 other local councils.

    Edosomwan was caught in Oredo local council, one of the councils that the Edo Socio-Political Research Group had raised the alarm of a possible case of ‘systemic rigging.’

    Speaking to reporters while being paraded by security operatives, Edosomwan  claimed to be a member of the ‘Operation Show Your Result’ team, a support group for a PDP legislative candidate.

    He said he was mandated to get as many PVCs of eligible voters as possible with the aim of buying over their votes.

    Edosomwan added that he bought the PVCs for as low as N5,000 per PVC, noting that he and members of his campaign group have been instructed to deliver their units at all costs.

    The suspect was later taken in by law enforcement agencies for further interrogation.

  • Group urges youths to collect their PVCs

    A youth group, #YouthDecide2019, has appealed to youths nation-wide to ensure that they use the remaining weeks before the general elections to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs).

    National Coordinator of #YouthDecide2019, Mr Chukwuma Okenwa, made the appeal while speaking with reporters in Enugu.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently said over 51 per cent of the total 84.2 million registered voters fall into the active youth age bracket of between 20 and 40 years.

    The commission also said over 15 million of the PVCs were still uncollected nation-wide.

    Okenwa called for reduction in millions of uncollected PVCs in various offices of the INEC nation-wide.

    He urged Nigerian youths to be part of the current political process and ensure election of those who would better their living conditions.

    He said no youth should sit on the fence to watch; and thereafter complain about ineptitude and bad governance.

    “This is our opportunity to make the impact we desire since currently youths out-number any other strata of the society participating in the election even in our neighbourhoods and communities.

    “This time, we must demand youth-oriented leaders, who have spelt out viable youth programmes that will shape our future for the better.

    “There is still time from now to the last week to the election for youths to collect our PVCs and make the difference in our lives and national socio-political polity,’’ he said.

    The co-coordinator also urged youths to get ready to vote and stay close to protect their votes on the election day.

    “Youths should also join various youthful electronic election platforms to get enlightened on how best to get clear commitment and agreement from youth-oriented candidates of any elective position.

    “They will also learn from others and other experienced people in these electronic platforms the act of result-oriented political engagement; so that we have accountable leaders at each level of governance in the country,’’ he added.

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on May 31, 2018, signed the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill into law, to further pave the way for Nigerian youths to be actively involved in the nation’s political leadership.

  • 171, 163 PVCs unclaimed in Akwa Ibom, says INEC official

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said 171,163 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) are still uncollected in Akwa Ibom State.

    INEC Administrative Secretary Lebari Nduh made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Uyo yesterday.

    Nduh said the commission registered a total of 2, 121, 126 million persons in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in state, lamenting that most of the PVCs were yet to be collected.

    “We registered 2, 121, 126 million people in the state in the CVR from 2016 till date.

    “But only five percent of PVCs have been collected, as 171, 163 people are yet to collect their own,’’ he said.Nduh noted that only 4, 208 people have collected their PVCs and urged the electorate to go and collect their PVCs so they can vote for candidates of their choice in the 2019 general elections.

    “PVC is very powerful, PVC is very important, with your PVC you can determine who get what, when and how,” he said.

    Nduh explained that the commission had published names of people whose PVCs were still in its custody, so they can come forward for collection across the state.

  • INEC distributes 111,302 PVCs, registers 127,743 fresh voters in Katsina

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Katsina state said so far it had issued over 111,302 permanent voters cards, PVC,   to voters who registered between April and December 2017 while on the other hand registered 127,743 fresh voters in the current civic registration exercise

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, who made the above disclosure yesterday in an address at a state consultative workshop organised in partnership with INEC Youth Strategy Development, added that the number for the newly registered, excludes those on transfers or lost their cards previously, corrected or defaced candidates

    He said’’ we still have 19 more days to go especially in the senatorial zones. Everyone who is issued a card is entitled to vote and be voted for ‘’

    Read Also:Senators trade tackles over confirmation of INEC nominees

    ‘’in the course of the campaign for civic voters registration exercise we engaged civic society groups, relevant stakeholders and the media to rally support and ensure the success of the campaign’’

    Earlier in an address at the occasion, the senior program officer for the association, Ibrahim Farouk, said the consultative forum was organised as part of effort aimed at providing collaborative, open and inclusive space for the young people in different political spheres of life

    Farouk also maintained that the meeting will also provide avenue for assessing youth participation and engagement in the electoral process

    The Senior Programme Officer further used the occasion to announce the plan to host state consultative meetings that will involve participants from 30 states and staff of INEC which will focus on youth participation and the opportunity for media organisations to share their experiences

    He said ’’INEC youth strategy is to be developed to articulate and coordinate youth programmes, increase civic participation in youths in the electoral process in a manner that appeal to youth and ensure inclusiveness’’

     

  • INEC insists on transmitting Ekiti, Osun election results electronically 

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday insisted that it would transmit the results of this year’s Ekiti and Osun State governorship elections electronically.

    According to its commissioner Muhammed Mustafa Lecky, one of the innovations that the commission is adopting for the 2019 elections is the electronic transmission of results and it has “come to the conclusion that this will be done come Ekiti and Osun elections.”

    He made this disclosure at the roundtable of The Electoral Institute (TEI) in Abuja. The theme of discussion was “Anambra Governorship Election: A Post-Mortem and Lessons for Ekiti and Osun States Governorship Polls.”

    The chairman of the Institute, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, had asked the commissioner to give an update on the electronic transmission of results.

    Lecky noted that INEC has discussed with the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and all the telecom companies that have assured it of the feasibility of transmitting the results electronically.

    His words: “we have begun discussions with the Nigerian Communication Commission, and we have also discussed with MTN, Etisalat and all other telecommunication companies in Nigeria. We have been having meetings with them.”

    Lecky said from the last week Tuesday meeting, the telecom companies assured the commission in the successful electronic transmission of the results.

    The commission, he said, has taken steps to ensure the functionality of the card reader, stressing that “the aperture where you do the scanning of the finger has been enlarged.”

    He said that the smart card reader has been enhanced to function better in the two states elections, and measures are underway for the commission to improve on them in the 2019 elections.

    The chairman revealed that there are steps to “document the Voter Identification Number the Permanent Voters Cards to trace the phone numbers of the owners in order to send them text messages informing them where their PVCs are.”

    He however insisted that despite the effort, it remains the responsibility of the owners to collect them.

    He added that the commission is trying to make copies of the PVCs so that our registration area officers and other staff at the local government level and see how they can identify the owners for collection.

    The commission, according to him, is doing its best to ensure that the PVCs are collected, stressing that “the onus is still on the owners to collect his or her PVCs.”

    A discussant from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Stella Okunna, advised the INEC to avoid late arrival of election materials and prevent electoral officers from being induced.

    She charged the commission to ensure that its equipment would work and compel the operators of the ICT to function ethically during the Ekiti and Osun state governorship election.

    She recalled that voting buying took place under the nose of the police, INEC officers and others authorities unmolested during the last Anambra  State governorship election.

    She urged the government to deploy the army to arrest the situation if the police allow vote buying.

    Read Also: Osun Guber Poll: INEC releases timetable

  • Oyo APC governorship aspirant begins voter’s registration campaign

    A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Prof Adeolu Akande, has started a campaign for the collection of Permanent Voters Cards in the state. The aspirant has erected billboards across the state for public service messages   urging residents to collect their PVCs.

    The messages were in English language, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo languages. One reads “Your Vote: Your Power. Collect Your Permanent Voters Card Today”.

    Another reads: “Your Vote is Your Power. Collect Your Permanent Voters Cards Today”. The message in Yoruba reads: Lofi Oruko Sile ki o si  gba Kaadi idibo Alalope re loni .

    The billboards have the picture of the aspirant in white caftan and blue  cap to match. Speaking on the campaign, a spokesman for the campaign organisation, Akeem Adetoyese, said the campaign became necessary because of the high number of uncollected PVCs.

    He said INEC’s records indicate that 649,000 PVCs have not uncollected in the state.

    Adetoyese said that this is worrisome when compared to the total number of votes cast in the 2015 governorship election, which was 800,000.

    He said: “We cannot afford to leave the mobilisation of voters to register and collect their PVCs to INEC alone. This is the duty of all and that is why we have taken it on as our social responsibility,” he said.

    Adetoyese said the Adeolu Akande Campaign Organisation is concerned about good governance, adding that the first critical step  in the state is for eligible voters to register to vote.

    He added: “Prof Akande is committed to the emergence of credible leadership in the state and he also believes in the right of the people to elect the candidates of their choice. They can exercise this right only when they duly register to vote.

    “He also believes that a good number of our youths who turned 18 years only after the 2015 elections will be qualified to vote for the first time in 2019.

  • ‘Don’t campaign under guise of voter education’-INEC tells politicians

    ‘Don’t campaign under guise of voter education’-INEC tells politicians

    The Independent National Electoral Commission  ( INEC ) has urged politicians in the country not to take advantage of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) to campaign.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Mr. Emeka Ononamadu, gave the caution in Enugu on Thursday while speaking with the Reporter.

    “The government should play by the rules. You do not campaign under the guise of mobilisation when INEC has not lifted the ban on campaign.

    “Government should continue to work towards realizing free, credible and transparent election and no one should position or look for undue advantage,” Ononamadu said.

    The REC said that the government also had a role to play in order to guarantee credible polls, adding that they needed to play by the rules when mobilising the electorate for the CVR.

    Ononamadu stressed the need for the electorate in the state to take the exercise more seriously.

    He said that the exercise had provided an ample opportunity for residents of the state to take their destinies into their hands.

    “The CVR is catching up well in Enugu State but we need to do better. People have started coming up in their numbers since the beginning of this year.

    Read Also: Cost of 2019 election not ready, says INEC boss

    “I think Enugu people will need to buckle up. This is an ample opportunity that has been provided to citizens by INEC as required by law,” he said.

    The REC said that the commission had been sensitizing the electorates on the need to register in order to perform their civic responsibilities.

    According to him, we used the yuletide to reach out to people in rural areas as well as in churches.

    Ononamadu noted that people were beginning to have a renewed confidence in the electoral umpire due to its excellent conducts in recent outings.

    He said that the exercise had been violent free in the state, adding that it was continuous and would stop 60 days before any general election according to the law.

    “When we started people were not too sure whether it was going to work or not but today they have seen that INEC is serious in terms of implementing its entire statutory mandate,” he said.

    Ononamadu, however, said that it was sad that people were still suspecting whether or not their vote would count.

    “I wonder what gave them that illusion because INEC had demonstrated in strong terms and statements that we are here to protect the mandate of Nigerians and that is what we shall do,” he said.

    He said that the commission had intensified efforts to sensitise residents of the state with a view to either registering or picking up their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    He said that the state had 1.6 million voting strength based on the ongoing registration, adding that about 127, 000 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) had yet to be collected.

    NAN