Out of the 6,630,661 PVCs that were received in Lagos State between 2011 and 2021, 5,676,858 have been collected, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At a stakeholder meeting on the collection of permanent voter cards (PVCs) with the leadership of political parties, civil society organisations, and religious leaders on Thursday in Ikeja, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Lagos state, revealed this.
Agbaje said the commission was working tirelessly to ensure that the elections in 2023 were fair and credible, and he praised all stakeholders for their cooperation in the effort to create a lasting democratic culture in Nigeria.
“It is pertinent to note that as of Dec.2, 953,803 PVCs were yet to be collected by their owners.
“These uncollected cards and the expected PVCs for fresh registrants, transfer or review from January to July will be available for collection in all INEC offices across the state from Monday, Dec. 12.
“It is instructive to note that collection of PVC by proxy will not be allowed and the collection of PVC is free.
“Owners of transferred, defaced or other incident PVCs should bring along with them, the old PVCs for exchange with new ones,” the INEC boss said.
For the avoidance of doubt, he asserts that the Electoral Act of 2022 forbids anybody without a PVC from casting a ballot in the general elections of 2023.
According to him, INEC set the dates for the collecting of PVCs at its local government offices as December 12, 2022, through January 22, 2023, and at the ward levels as January 6, 2023, through January 15, 2023.
According to the commissioner, it became essential to collect PVCs by the deadline of January 22 so that INEC could compute the records of PVCs gathered per polling unit.
According to Agbaje, the deadline was set to help INEC prepare in accordance with sections 24 (2&3), 47 (3), and 51 (2) of the Electoral Act 2022, in the event that the lead difference between the two front-runners in an election did not exceed the total number of voters who picked up their PVCs in polling places where elections were cancelled, postponed, or not held.
“Consequently, all those that are yet to collect their PVCs are to do so within the period and avoid last minute rush as the commission will not extend the collection period,” he added.
He stated that 13,325 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be used for PVC authentication and voter accreditation across the state of Lagos, which has 245 wards and 13,325 polling stations split over 20 LGAs.
He said that INEC had kept working around the clock to make sure that no effort was spared in creating an extremely favourable election environment for the full participation of all stakeholders.
According to Agbaje, INEC has used new technology to increase the election’s credibility and give voters confidence that their ballots would be counted.
He said that INEC has also been conducting thorough voter education and public awareness campaign through, among other things, stakeholder engagement, market outreach, personality programmes on radio and television stations, the playing of jingles on radio and television, and market outreaches.
The commissioner stated that INEC has also cleaned up the voter’s record, trained various types of personnel on the most recent technical advancements, monitored political party campaigns, and hired ad-hoc workers online.
Regarding what INEC expects from its partners, the organization’s head pleaded with them to help protect the commission’s resources, including as its personnel and equipment.
In addition, he asked people to abstain from all electoral vices, including voting fraud, stealing ballot boxes, purchasing and selling voter registration cards, intimidating poll officials, and buying votes.
In order for eligible voters to cast their ballots for the candidates of their choice during the election, he asked stakeholders to strive for a peaceful election and to mobilise voters to turn out in large numbers to acquire PVCs.
Apathy among voters and the political class’s mindset of “do-or-die” and “win at all costs” were cited by him as the key challenges facing INEC.
He claims that some politicians use a variety of illegal tactics to sabotage the electoral process, including the use of thugs to disrupt voting, the buying of votes, the raising of false alarms, the spreading of false information, the incitement of hate speech, and the use of vulgar language.
He promised all parties involved that INEC would maintain its objectivity and openness while ensuring that all candidates running in the upcoming elections would face equal odds.
“It is, however, worthy of note that the consequences of not getting it right is enormous and should not even be contemplated.
“I, therefore, urge us all to do everything necessary within the ambit of the law toward playing our various roles effectively as well as prepare for the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive 2023 general elections.”
In his remarks, Mr. Olusegun Mobolaji, the Lagos State IPAC Chairman, praised INEC for keeping stakeholders informed and for keeping them involved, and he reaffirmed the commitment of IPAC members to fair elections.
In order to prevent indifference, Mobolaji emphasised that “elections are not wars” and asked all stakeholders to put a lot of effort into promoting political awareness, education, and security.
A number of stakeholders highlighted concerns about the safety of voters, the selling and purchasing of votes, the accessibility of PVCs, and the removal of INEC offices from local government secretariat buildings, among other issues.
