“…Voters should check their details and make claims where appropriate. While this is ongoing, collection of PVCs is also going on.”
Paul Osuyi, Asaba and Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 465, 200 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have not been collected in Delta and Taraba states.
In Delta, 330,200 PVCs were yet to be collected by their owners as at Monday night, while 130,000 PVCs that have not been collected in Taraba.
READ ALSO: 364,265 PVCs unclaimed in Ondo state- INEC
With the presidential/National Assembly elections next February, INEC has commenced the process of cleaning up the voters’ register for the 2019 general election, with the display of the Preliminary Register of Voters (PRV) across the 3,624 polling units in Delta.
Administrative Secretary of INEC in the state, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony told newsmen in Asaba, the state capital, that the clean up of the register is aimed at ensuring credible, free, fair inclusive election, adding that a healthy register is the foundation of credible election in 2019.
“This exercise is as important as the registration itself because it is to ensure that every error either in age, gender, name or photograph is corrected. The aim to mobilise prospective voters to go to their polling units where the registers have been displayed and check for their details. She said during the PRV, PVCs will be available for collection, and lamented that “the rate of PVC collection in the state has been abysmally low despite taking the collection process to communities.”
In Taraba, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Alhaji Baba Abba Yusuf, told newsmen at a press briefing in Jalingo, the state capital that INEC has fixed November 6 to November 12 for display of voters’ registers.
“…Voters should check their details and make claims where appropriate. While this is ongoing, collection of PVCs is also going on.
“We have over 130,000 PVCs that have not been collected in the state and are still in our custody.
“Let me urge those who have not collected their PVCs to take advantage of this window and do so as it is their only chance of exercising their franchise at the forthcoming general elections,” Yusuf said.
READ ALSO: Kebbi: INEC begins de-registration of non-Nigerians, deceased with PVCs
Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party and the All Progressive Congress in Delta have urged voters in the state to take advantage of the display of the PRV to correct any error about their details in the register.
Administrative Secretary of INEC in the state, Mrs. Rose Oriaran-Anthony, announced commencement of the exercise aimed at cleaning up the voters’ register.