From Paul Osuyi, Asaba 
A non-political group, Association of Anioma Professionals (AAP) said it is collaborating with town unions in Delta North Senatorial District to mobilise voters to collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) before the January 31 deadline.
President-General of the association, Mr. Peter Nkemchor said the collaboration with town union leaderships was to ensure that the people are fully mobilised to arm themselves with PVCs to enable them determine the next set of political leaders.
Nkemchor applauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for measures taken to make the coming general elections credible by reducing the impact of the human element in the conduct of the election through the adoption of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other technology based tools.
“The major factor that has kept voter turn out low is the perception by Nigerians that the system is corrupted and their votes will not count. But that perception has changed with INEC’s introduction of technology in the process.
“Many people registered to obtain their PVC on account of the innovations introduced by INEC and we commend INEC for this,” Nkenchor said.
He called on the people to be patient with INEC officials when they go for PVC collection, urging them to ignore all insinuations associated with the exercise.
Nkemchor noted that Anioma people in Delta State, just as other Nigerians, embraced the voter registration, convinced that votes will count this time.
“Our advocacy is also driven by the fact that after Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa completes his term as governor of Delta State on May 29, 2023, our people are prepared to ensure that Anioma gets its due under whoever emerges governor using the power of its voting strength.
“We want Anioma to be treated as critical stakeholder in the Delta project and the best way to guarantee that is to boost the voting strength of our people,” Nkenchor said.