… Distribution to Take Place in Only 2 LGAs in Borno
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) entreated to Nigerians to make all the efforts required to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) for their votes to count in the February Elections.
Kayode Idowu, the chief press secretary to the chairman of INEC, mande the entreaty in an interview on Friday.
Idowu said that Nigerians who have registered for the PVCs have up to the end of January to pick up their cards.
He added that the provisional figures released by the Commission’s Voter Registry Department on Thursday showed that as of January 7, 2015, INEC had received a total of 54,341,610 PVCs.
Out of this, it had distributed 38,774,219 PVCs nationwide and had a balance of 15,567,219 which were yet to be collected, Idowu said.
He pointed out that 71.35 percent of all the PVC available are already in the hands of their owners.
“All those who have registered are urged to visit their local government areas where they registered to collect their PVCs,” Idowu said.
“They can do this till the end of January. The collection would enable them vote in the forthcoming elections.”
Meanwhile, the Electoral commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Borno State has revealed how the PVC is being distributed in the troubled state.
The REC, Prof. Tukur Sa’ad, said the distribution of the PVCs would be restricted in Borno State to two of the 27 local government areas of the state due to the Boko Haram menace.
He also said the distribution would be done between Saturday, 10th January and 15th January.
He mentioned that distribution would only be in Maiduguri and Jere LGAs.
Sa’ad explained that the distribution would be at the wards and at the camps of the Internally Displaced Persons.
“The issuance of PVC to registered voters and the CVR will take place in Maiduguri and Jere LGAs considered to be relatively safe now,” Sa’ad said.
He explained that the PVC would be issued based on the temporary voter card issued at the nationwide voter registration in 2010.
“PVC is like an ATM card that will not allow an individuals to vote more than once in an election and the CVR is for individuals, who have attained voter age or those whose names were missing in the voter register,” he explained.
