MultiChoice Nigeria has thrown its weight behind the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) nationwide permanent voter’s cards (PVC) collection drive.
The PVCs, which is part of the electoral umpire’s measures to improve the credibility of the electoral process through identity theft elimination, is a prerequisite for participation in the coming general election.
MultiChoice Nigeria’s support is in the shape of regular and free broadcast of INEC’s messages on PVCs collection by registered eligible voters on channels on its DStv and GOtv platforms. The broadcast will, in particular, be targeted at youths, overwhelmingly the country’s biggest voting demographic category, through DStv channel 198 and GOtv channel 29.
The two channels are dedicated to the round-the-clock broadcast of BB Titans, this year’s edition of the Big Brother television reality show, which launched yesterday and is mostly watched by the youths.
INEC also called on registered voters across the country who are yet to collect their PVCs, those who have requested for the transfer of their registration and those seeking to replace their lost or damaged PVCs to visit the electoral body’s offices in the local government areas they intend to vote to collect their PVCs.
The process, which began on December 12, 2022, and runs between 9am and 3pm from Monday through Sunday, will terminate on January 22.
The electoral umpire also announced it will extend PVCs collection to the ward level where those who are unable to collect at its council offices can pick up their voter’s cards from January 6 to 15, after which it will revert to its council offices till the terminal date of January 22.
Explaining the decision to support for INEC’s PVCs collection campaign, John Ugbe, chief executive officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, said the company is committed to Nigeria’s democratic development, especially the credibility of electoral processes and procedures. These, he added, can only be accelerated through mass participation, especially by the youths, and begins with the possession of valid means of voting, which is the PVC.