The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has raised the alarm that some politicians have been buying up Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, and financially inducing unsuspecting voters to harvest their Voter Identification Numbers.
Mohammed Haruna, the acting chairman of INEC and National Commissioner overseeing the FCT, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Plateau states, raised the alarm on Monday, December 12, 2022, during the launch of #YourVoteMatters project by an election observer group, NESSACTION, in Abuja, where he disclosed that two people have been recently convicted for illegal possession of PVCs in Sokoto and Kano states.
The project, supported by the International Foundation for Electoral System, IFES; the United States Agency for International Development, USAID; and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, FCDO, seeks to assist INEC in increasing the number of PVCs collected ahead of the 2023 general elections as well as the voters mobilised on election day.
Speaking, the INEC National Commissioner also warned the electorates to desist from compromising the ownership of their PVCs; saying, “We are aware some politicians are more or less buying the PVCs. If you collect the PVC and then you sell it out or allow someone else to have it, you are aiding illegal possession of the PVC which is an offence in our Electoral Act.
“Some of you are aware that only recently, INEC managed to convict two people who were found guilty of illegal possession of PVC’s in Kano and Sokoto. So, I urge people to connect their PVCs, keep it safely, and make sure that on election day, you go out there and cast your votes because, of course, without your PVC you cannot vote.”
On her part, the Executive Director of NESSACTION, Ambassador Eniola Cole, explained that the project slated for implementation in the FCT, Nasarawa, and Plateau states, will provide logistics to incentivise communities with low PVC collection rates. While commending INEC for gains made in the electoral process through technology and other reforms, she said, “We implore the general public to take advantage of the timeframe set by INEC for PVC collection at the Commission’s LGA offices nationwide from December 12, 2022, to January 5, 2023, and at the 8809 Registration Areas from January 6, 2023, to January 22, 2023, including Saturdays and Sundays.
“The public can, through dedicated channels, inform us of their location in order to receive support including the PVC collection buses and community outreach activities to be conducted at the local level in each state by our community mobilisation officers.”
‘Attacks On Our Office Will Have No Impact On 2023 Polls’ – INEC Chairman
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, assured Nigerians that the series of attacks on its facilities in some parts of the country would not in any way affect the credibility of the 2023 general elections.
Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, gave the assurance during his on-the-spot assessment of the Abeokuta South Local Government Area office of the commission that was set ablaze by unknown arsonists, recently.
Yakubu also assured the people of Abeokuta South local government that none of them will be disenfranchised during the forthcoming elections, stressing that all the 65,699 Permanent Voters Cards, PVC, that were destroyed in the fire disaster would be reprinted and distributed before the elections.
He said: “The purpose of our visit to this office is to further access the extent of damage, to meet our staff, particularly in the place where they have relocated to in Oke-Ilewo, to boost their morale and to assure the people of Abeokuta South that despite this unfortunate incident, elections will hold in Abeokuta South in 2023.
“Whatever materials we have lost, the commission is making efforts to replace them. We lost 65,699 PVCs. We want to assure all those that have not collected their PVCs and may have been affected by the fire disaster that we are making plans to reprint the PVCs quickly and to bring them back to Abeokuta South for people to collect and vote.”
