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Tag: PVCs

  • 940,000 PVCs distributed in Kogi

    940,000 PVCs distributed in Kogi

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has distributed 940, 000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Kogi State.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hussain Pai, spoke yesterday in his office when commenting on the PVC collection.

    He said the commission had achieved 71 per cent PVC collection, adding that 29 per cent were yet to be collected.

    Pai said 1,317,000 PVCs were received by the commission, out of which 940, 000 had been collected and  370, 000 were yet to be collected.

    He said before the election shift, INEC  achieved 61 per cent collection, which had increased to 71 per cent, adding that before the March 8 deadline, it would have achieved a reasonable percentage, if not 100 per cent.

    The REC urged the people to use the extension to collect their PVCs, noting that they were available at the 239 wards.

  • Christians urged to collect PVCs

    Christians urged to collect PVCs

    Christians in Badagry West Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State have been advised to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    The President of the Patriotic Christian Leaders Forum (PCLF), Dr. Adefunmilayo Akitoye-Braimoh, gave the advice at Apa in Badagry during a sensitisation programme organised for Christian leaders.

    The occasion was also used to inaugurate the group’s leaders.

    Mrs. Akitoye-Braimoh said with their PVC, Christians would liberate themselves from corrupt politicians.

    According to her, the coming elections were important for Christians and they should be interested in exercising their franchise by obtaining PVCs.

    Dr. Akitoye-Braimoh, who is also the senior special assistant (SSA) to Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola on Christian Religion Matters, said churches had been praying for the nation, “but Christians must go beyond prayers by picking up their PVCs to vote good leaders.”

    She enjoined those who had obtained their PVCs not to sell them, to avoid trading away their future.

    The Executive Secretary of Badagry West LCDA, Mr. Joseph Agoro, while assuring residents of the co-operation of his government, said residents, who have not collected their PVCs, should do so.

    He promised to ensure victory for the APC candidates in Badagry.

    His words: “I encourage you all as Christians to participate in the coming elections. As you obtain your PVCs, I urge you to shun double dealings and dubious characters. Don’t join the bandwagon because we need you to sanitise the system.”

     

     

  • 1,073,904 PVCs collected in Ondo

    The Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Segun Agbaje, has said 1,073,904 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been distributed in the state.

    This, he said, represented 71.8 per cent while 420,265 representing 28.1 per cent were yet to be collected.

    He spoke at the town hall meeting of a  non- governmental  organisation “Say No Campaign” in Akure, the state capital.

    He said: “Everyone must take a stand against electoral violence; we cannot afford to be on the fence.

    “You and I have a role to play if we must say no to violence.”

    The group’s Southwest Coordinator, Abiodun Ajila, said the elections must be free and fair.

  • PROF JEGA Ifo INEC not distributing PVCs

    PROF JEGA Ifo INEC not distributing PVCs

    This is to inform the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, that the INEC office in Ifo, Ogun State are not distributing the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to the people in the local government area.

    I registered at the Unit 10 in Ijoko-Ota. My wife and children also registered there.

    We have been going to the INEC office in Ifo since January. Any time we get there, we are given another date. The last time I went there was February 17. I was told to come back on February 28.

    I am becoming tired. But I will not be tired because I am a patriotic Nigerian. I am determined to exercise my right to vote on March 28 and April 11.

    Therefore, I am calling on Prof. Jega to urgently order the distribution of the PVCs to the people in the  local government area, so that they can have the opportunity of voting in the coming elections.

     

    Samuel Adeoti,

    Ogun State.

  • Tinubu urges party members to obtain PVCs

    The National Leader of the All Progress Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has urged party members to obtain their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to enable them vote for change.

    At a stakeholders’ meeting yesterday in Lagos, he said, without the PVCs, the electorate is powerless, urging them to redouble their effort in the collection.

    The APC leader noted that some people were reluctant to collect their PVCs, adding that such step does not add value to the electoral power.

    He said the party leadership has been having series of meetings to review the electoral process, adding that members must brace up to prevent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from rigging the elections.

    He said: “It was resolved that we must go back to our constituencies. The ward meetings must be very regular and constant now. This our new charge now and must be adhered to strictly.

    “Attendant register must be maintained at the ward meetings, we must verify those members who are registered as members of our party unit by unit.

    “We must equally identify those us who have been able to obtain our PVC. How many of them have not been able to get their PVC and those who have not got theirs. This instruction commences from today,” he said.

    He said the party will do everything within its power to assist those who are finding it difficult to collect their PVC but they must show the interest to them first.

    Tinubu added that APC has the highest number of registered members in the country and wondered why some members were not keen in collecting their PVC.

    “I am challenging you to inform the market women, carpenters, masonries, artisans of any nature must collect their PVC. If your gutter must be kept be clean, if you must benefit from the education, health and other social service then you must perform your civic responsibilities by obtaining the PVC.”

    Tinubu said those selling their PVC were destroying their lives, noting that it was their future and that of their children they were compromising.

    “Those of you selling your PVCs, you are destroying your lives. When you sell out your PVCs, you will not be able to collect another one again. So, in future when your child or you need the PVC to enable you make some transaction, you will not be able to use it.

    “When you sell it, they would void it in order not to be able to use the card. So, you can’t use it to vote. The PDP is aware that you will not vote them but instead of using to vote the party of your choice they preferred to collect it and destroy the card. They can’t use the card but want it destroyed.

    “That is what you call depopulation strategy. They tried to depopulate us. Please pass this information to them so that they will understand the consequence of their action,” he added.

  • INEC CHAIRMAN No PVCs distribution in Ijoko-Ota

    INEC CHAIRMAN No PVCs distribution in Ijoko-Ota

    I AM writing this to complain that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not distributing the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Ijoko-Ota, Ogun State.

    People daily trooping to an office at Reverend Gabriel Onifade Street in the town to collect their PVCs are always disappointed. They go to the office with enthusiasm, thinking they will collect their PVCs, but return to their homes in sorrow for not getting them.

    The INEC must swing into action by starting to distribute the PVCs in Ijoko-Ota.

    We need the cards to vote. We should not be disenfranchised. The INEC must handle this case with care.

     

    Akin Idowu,

    Ijoko-Ota,

    Ogun State.

  • INEC extends PVCs collection

    INEC extends PVCs collection

    Collection of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will continue till March 8, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday.

    The extension followed the postponement of the elections till March 28 and April 11.

    The PVCs collection was initially due to end last Sunday.

    In a statement yesterday, the commission’s secretary Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, said it hoped that “this extension will finally avail every registered person yet to collect his/her PVC the opportunity to do so in readiness for the general elections”.

    The INEC chairman’s Chief Press Secretary Mr Kayode Idowu, said the problem was not that the cards were not available “but the question still remains the collection by the owners’’.

    Idowu said the commission would do its best to ensure that registered voters received their PVCs, given the extension in the election dates.

    The chief press secretary said the collection of PVCs was not one of the reasons why the election dates were rescheduled, adding that 68.7 per cent of PVCs had been collected as at Feb. 6.

    “By the time we add the figure for Saturday, you can be sure that it would have reached 70 per cent.

    “Even with all complaints, the rate is not bad as people are talking about it.’’

    Idowu, however, added that the commission would use the extension period to improve on its preparations to achieve success in the elections.

    The commission has said that parties can no longer substitute candidates in spite of the postponement.

    A top official of the commission said: “We have been receiving enquiries from political parties on whether or not they they can replace their  candidates.

    “But we have already printed the ballot papers; we cannot change the format overnight. This will attract more cost. You will recall that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the poll shift is without cost.

    “The reality is that some aspects of our preparation for the polls, especially the nomination and substitution processes, had lapsed as contained in the guidelines in the Electoral Act.

    “We will not allow last-minute substitution of candidates.”

  • Suspected thugs snatch 3,366 PVCs in Ebonyi

     Suspected hoodlums in Izzi and Ikwo local government areas of Ebonyi State have snatched 3,366 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Lawrence Azubuike, spoke yesterday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

    He decried the incident. Azubuike said: “In the last three days, 3,366 PVCs have been snatched from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) workers. At Eka Awoke in Ikwo Local Government, suspected thugs snatched 302 PVCs from INEC officials, who were distributing them.

    “At Igbeagu III in Izzi Local Government on Tuesday, 3,064 PVCs were snatched. In Ohaukwu Local Government, INEC workers were attacked when distributing PVCs. However, no card was snatched.”

    The REC condemned the act, urging the masterminds to desist.

    His words: “PVC in the possession of a wrong owner is a useless piece of card. You cannot use any PVC that is not your own to vote. A card reader has been introduced to ensure this. Disenfranchising others by preventing them from collecting their cards does not help candidates’ chances of being elected.”

    Azubuike advised the people to ensure that the elections were not marred by violence and irregularities, saying the extension of the collection of PVCs is to ensure that eligible voters collect theirs.

  • Protesters storm INEC, demand postponement

    Protesters storm INEC, demand postponement

    Some protesting youth stormed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Headquarters yesterday, demanding the postponement of this month’s general elections.

    The inability of the commission to have finalised the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) was put forward by the protesting youth as reason.

    The group, which first met at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, matched to the INEC headquarters, holding banners and placards that advocate for the election postponement.

    They chanted for the polls’ postponement, citing the challenges in the Permanent Voters Cards’ (PVCs) distribution and the need to avoid injustice to the large number of Nigerians who could not get their PVCs.

    Some of the placards had inscriptions such as: “An injustice to one is an injustice to all”; “INEC do the right thing”; “We demand for the extension of election to allow Nigerians exercise their franchise”; “Election is for general participation, not for selective few”; “Don’t disenfranchise Nigerians”.

    INEC had insisted that the elections will be conducted using the PVCs as the only way to check rigging.

    The group, under the aegis of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and led by its National Coordinator, Solomon Chuks, said with the rate of distribution of PVCs, many will be disenfranchised should the elections go ahead as scheduled.

    Chucks, who presented the group’s protest letter to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, insisted that going ahead with the polls would deny many Nigerians their constitutional rights to choose their preferred leaders through ballot.

    “The PVC, which is supposed to be one of the instruments of votes, has not been fully distributed around Nigeria.

    “Those people, who actually remain under scorching sun to sign their names for these PVCs, have not gotten these things; yet elections are fast approaching, “he said.

  • 2015: 68.8m PVCs ready for collection – INEC

    2015: 68.8m PVCs ready for collection – INEC

    The Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) of all the 68.8 million registered voters for this month’s general election have been produced and ready for collection, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.

    INEC also said that the PVCs of those who were affected when the commission had data loss were also ready for collection.

    This category may include the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos and many other registered voters who INEC had said that their cards were not among those initially produced because their data were mistakenly deleted.

    Also ready for collection are those of individuals that participated in the recent Continuous Voter registration.

    Speaking at a one- day workshop for journalists organized by the Commission in Kaduna on Monday, the Deputy Director (Publicity), Mr. Nick Dazang, said all the cards have been distributed to the collecting centres across the federation.

    He said so far 65 per cent of the PVCs have been collected, stressing that with the one week extension, it was expected that almost all of the PVCs would have been collected.

    Dazang also announced that some states have recorded about 80 per cent collection.