319 PVCs burnt in Abia fire, says INEC

News Agency Of Nigeria

February 7, 2019 11:00 PM

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abia has said that only 319 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were burnt in Mondays fire at the commissions office at Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.

Fire engulfs INEC office in Abia destroying over 10,000 thousand PVCs

Mr Godfrey Achibie, Head, Voter Education and Publicity of the commission, confirmed the figure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Thursday.

He dismissed as unfounded the report in some section of the media that over 15,000 PVCs were destroyed by the fire. Achibie urged newsmen to always verify their reports from the right source before publication.

He said, Dont listen to the people on the roadside and start publishing. According to him, only a section of the office, where the PVCs were stored, was affected by the fire and not the entire building.

He said that the commission was deeply concerned about the incident and was taking serious steps to quickly address it.

Achibie gave assurance that the commission would replace the burnt PVCs, but could not confirm whether they would be ready before the Feb. 16 presidential poll. He expressed happiness over the enthusiasm showed by the people of the state toward the collection of their PVCs.

He urged the people to be of good conduct during the polls, saying that INEC was ready to conduct free, credible and transparent elections.

News Agency Of Nigeria