■ Admits concerns over distribution of PVCs
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has announced February 4, as date to conduct mock accreditation of voters in 436 polling units across the country.
It also disclosed that 12 polling units in each state of the federation and four in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been designated for the exercise.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure in his opening remarks during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja on Friday.
Yakubu equally admitted concerns over the distribution and collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) across the country, but assured Nigerians that, “the commission will always be responsive to the needs of the electorate.”
His words: “As you are already aware, the commission has taken delivery of the BVAS machines for the election. We have also dutifully tested each machine in our offices nationwide to ensure its functionality. The next step is to conduct field tests across the country involving actual voters.
“For this reason, and in readiness for nationwide deployment, the commission is conducting a mock accreditation of voters similar to what was done ahead of the recent Ekiti and Osun state governorship elections.
“The mock accreditation will hold on Saturday, February, 4, 2023 in 436 polling units nationwide. A comprehensive list of the polling units, including their names and PU Code numbers, as well as their distribution by state, senatorial district, local government and registration area (ward) will be uploaded to the commission’s website shortly.”