PVCs MEANT FOR CROSS RIVERS STATE ELECTORATES WRONGLY TAKEN TO KEBBI-REC

The Cross Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr   Okey Ezeani today revealed that some Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), meant for registered electorates in the state has been transported to Kebbi State wrongly.

Ezeani stated this in calabar, when he paid a  courtesy visit on the State governor, Liyel Imoke apparently to brief him on how far INEC has gone in terms of preparation for the forth coming general elections.

According to the REC, "
My colleague in Kebbi called me and said that they found some boxes of PVCs belonging to Cross River State in Kebbi and there are similar cases regarding some states as well. These are some of the issues plaguing INEC."

Ezeani expressed happiness over postponement of the elections, adding that, "The postponement of the elections is a plus because it will afford us ample time to fix some of the things we were not able to get right.

"When I came to Cross River State, the percentage of collection was running between 60 and 73 percent and after meeting with my staff, we set out a target and today we have attained 82 percent distribution in the state."

In responding, Imoke urged INEC to ensure 100 per cent distribution of PVCs in the state and the country as a whole before the elections so that no one was disenfranchised on the grounds of non-availability of PVCs.

The governor said, "I thank you for the effort at improving on the number of PVCs collected in the state from 66 percent to 82 now, even though you must try and achieve 100 percent collection before the elections so as not to disenfranchise anybody.

"The constitution provides that every registered voter has the right to vote. It does not provide for the presentation of PVCs before exercising that right. So, we urge that you try as much as possible to achieve a 100 percent PVC distribution, otherwise, it will appear that INEC will be responsible for disenfranchising registered voters and this could have legal consequences and call to question the integrity of the process."

Photo credit: Thewillnigeria