INEC Weighs Options On Fresh Voter Registration, Those With PVC Issues.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said it was still considering fresh voter registration for eligible persons yet to register and for those with Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) problem. Mr Emmanuel Idakwo, the Head of INEC office in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Karu, gave this hint in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. Idakwo said that many unregistered persons trooped into INEC office daily with various complaints, adding that the situation had put the commission under pressure which may engender fresh registration for few days. He said that there were people with Temporary Voter’s Cards (TVCs) but whose names were not found in the PVC register. He explained that such category of persons could be allowed to have new registration to enable them to exercise their rights during the elections. Idakwo said that aside from the pressure from individuals, the commission was also mindful of President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive that every eligible Nigerian must be allowed to vote. “There is need for such people to be given the chance to register”, he said. On TVC holders whose names were missing in the permanent voters’ register, he said the problem may have arisen from absence of their thumb print on the temporary cards. According to him, such people cannot find their names on the PVC register and need to undertake new registration. On whether INEC would allow the use of temporary card holders to vote in the elections, Idakwo said that the only way it would be permitted ‘’is when the PVCs for the affected TVCs are not ready for collection. “But in a case where the PVCs are available in the various offices of INEC in the country, why can’t these persons with their TVCs go and collect their PVCs”, he said. He therefore advised persons yet to collect their PVCs to go to centres where they registered and collect the new cards. He stated that collection centres in the country had been decentralised to ease collection of the PVCs. (NAN)
