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From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday said over 300,000 Permanent Voters’Cards (PVCs) are lying fallow, waiting for collection at its offices in Delta State.
They included a total of 244,715 from the 2019 election; 69,946 for those who registered between June and December 2021; and 17,000 transfer PVCs.
Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Monday Udoh-Tom made this known while inaugurating the Delta State INEC Press Corps in Asaba.
Besides the uncollected figure, Udoh-Tom said another tranche of PVCs was being expected from the INEC head office in Abuja for those who completed their registration between January and July, this year.
He urged voters to come forward and claim their cards to avoid being disenfranchised in next year’s elections.
Udoh-Tom said the commission has already stepped up sensitisation efforts and enjoined stakeholders to assist in mobilising voters to come for their PVCs.
“The commission expects that by the end of November, we will receive more PVCs, hence, our desire to embark on the aggressive mobilisation of registrants to collect their PVCs through the PVC Collection/Political Campaigns Sensitisation, which has so far taken us to the state House of Assembly,” he said.
As a follow-up, the REC said a series of meetings with various stakeholder groups have been scheduled in the coming days.
On the INEC Press Corps (IPC), Udoh-Tom congratulated the four-man executive led by Comrade Festus Ahon as chairman, saying that Delta became the first state to inaugurate it after Abuja.
Earlier, the Head, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC in the state, Bukola Ojeme, stated that the purpose of the corps was to help journalists on the commission’s beat to understand the nuances of INEC reporting.
Ojeme said the corps is very critical in the value chain of information management for the commission.
Speaking on behalf of the executive, Comrade Ahon thanked members of the corps for the confidence reposed on the team and pledged that they will ensure a robust relationship between the media and the commission.
Other members of the executive are Oghenero Eghweree (secretary) Austin Oyibode (PRO) and Ifeoma Okafor (Treasurer).
