INEC registers 104,388 voters, receives 10,221 new PVCs

Mr Paul Atser, the INEC Administrative Secretary in Kwara, says the commission has registered 104,388 people in the state for the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) since the commencement of the exercise in April 2017.

Atser made this known during a meeting with stakeholders on Friday in Ilorin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that representatives of the Police, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Department of State Services attended the meeting.

Also in attendance were representatives of political parties, women organisations, non-governmental organisations, NLC, NYSC as well as physically challenged persons.

The administrative secretary also said the commission had taken delivery of 10,221 new PVCs from its headquarters, adding that many more would be delivered soon.

He expressed delight that the 242, 000 uncollected PVCs had been depleted as 4, 388 had been collected by their owners.

Atser called on those who registered for PVCs since 2015 to visit INEC’s registration centres to collect them.

He said the new PVCs would be ready for collection as from Monday throughout the country, adding that these were for those that registered in 2017 for new PVC, loss of PVC, damaged PVC and transferred PVC.

Atser, however, insisted that there would not be collection of PVCs by proxy as everybody registered must come physically to collect their cards.

He added that to facilitate registration, additional 16 centres were created, making a total of 32 in the state.

Atser also said that 16 additional Data Capturing machines were deployed to the state to speed up the registration exercise.

Mr Iyiola Oyedepo, the PDP chairman in the state, made a case for more polling units in new residential communities in Ilorin.

He said that many communities were springing up in the state capital as a result of influx of people, adding that those in these areas without polling units may be disenfranchised in 2019.

The NLC chairman, Mr Yekini Agunbiade, also lamented the inadequate registration centres in the state.

He also drew the attention of INEC to the fact that after electing Dr Mike Omotosho as the National Chairman of the Labour Party, the commission had yet to effect the change on its web site.

The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council in the state, Mr Abdul-Mumeen Onagun, commended INEC in the state for its transparency.

Onagun, however, said that in spite of INEC’s efforts, the number of registration centres were still “grossly inadequate.”