Over 40,000 PVCs Uncollected In Adamawa – INEC

ADAMAWA

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said over 40,000 permanent voter’s cards printed for new registrants are yet to be collected in Adamawa State.

Mr. Dahiru Jauro, public affairs officer of the commission in Adamawa said the commission received 56,000 PVCs for those who took part in the continuous voter registration exercise between June 2021 and December 2021, out of that figure only 15,000 of those PVCs have been collected by the owners.

The revelation was made during a town hall meeting on strengthening civic participation in the electoral process, organised by Network of Adamawa Non-Governmental Organisation (NANGO) with funding support from Irish Aid in Yola on Monday.

Jauro, who urged stakeholders to sensitize electorates to come forward and collect their PVC’s, maintained that PVC collection still remains a major concern.

He said, “The issue we have on ground today, is the collection of the PVC. Adamawa State received 56,000 PVCs and out of this figure, only 15,000 have been collected so far. We, therefore, have over 40,000 PVCs yet to be collected in our offices.”

The non-collection of the PVCs applied to those who participated in the Continuous Voter registration exercise between June 2021 and December 2021, and which the commission has since delivered their PVCs.

He added that the commission is not likely to start another batch of registration of the CVR yet, while assuring that all newly registered voters would get their PVCs before the 2023 general elections.

Peter Egwudah, chairman NANGO, canvassed the active participation of civil society, in pushing for regulations and legislations that would make it easier for everyone to freely cast their ballot without necessarily going out to queue on elections days.

The town hall meeting also dispelled some myths that elections in Nigeria have a predetermined outcome.

The stakeholders which included civil society groups and INEC among others, noted that voter apathy had more to do with the feeling of many voters, especially younger voters that regardless of who they voted for, their votes won’t count, as, being responsible for the indifference to elections in Nigeria.

They agreed that while voter apathy still remains a major concern, there was a need to allay these concerns through sensitization workshops and enlightenments.