About 128, 246 PVCs uncollected in Borno ahead 2023 general elections
By Njadvara MUSA
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decried the non-collection of 111,618 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in Borno state.
According to the Commission, at present there are 114, 531 old PVCs including 13, 715 new cards issued last year; these are also not collected by the eligible voters.
Unveiling the commencement of PVCs distribution, on Friday at a meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), in Maiduguri, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mohammed Magaji Ibrahim, disclosed: “This year’s elections will be conducted in the preliminary register of voters.”
He said the forthcoming general elections will be held on February 25, and March 11, 2023 for Presidential and National Assembly, Governorship and State Assembly elections respectively.
Ibrahim, represented by the Head of Voters Education and Publicity, Shaibu Ibrahim said: “At the end of the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) and the automated bimodal identification system (ABIS), the registration figures however; rose from 2.32 million to 2.51 million.”
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He explained that after the fresh CVR from June 2021 to July 2022; the registration figures stood at 198,272 in the state.
Continued; “We’ve just received 54,949 replacements and transfers of PVCs,” noting that this is the Commission’s drive to ensure massive collection of voters’ cards.
According to him, the timetable of collecting the cards in the 312 registration areas commences from January 6 to 16, 2023, while distribution in the 27 Councils INEC offices, is slated for January 16 to 22, 2025 when the collection of PVCs.
“After the January 22, 2023 deadline, PVCs collection will be suspended until after the general elections across the country,” he said.
He, therefore, urged IPAC stakeholders to mobilise and educate their supporters to come and collect their PVCs.
He assured that the PVCs at the councils’ offices have all been scanned to facilitate their collection under the new guidelines for cards collection.
He warned that any person who is unlawful possession of any voters card whether issued in the name of any voter or not or sells or attempts to sell or offers to sell any voters card is liable on conviction to a fine of N500, 000 or jailed for two years or both.
On whether or not there should be electronic voting, he said: “However; there will be electronic accreditation and transmission of election results.”
He noted that the general public will view in real time election results via INEC Results Viewing portal.
