Over two million potential voters in the South East may not be able to vote in the forthcoming elections because they have failed to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), according to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This is in addition to the fact that the South East is the zone with the least number of registered voters in the country.
The electoral challenge in the zone is compounded by the insistence of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the disbanded Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and his numerous supporters that there would be no election in the zone if the government failed to accept its call for a referendum to determine the future of the zone.
Their call is summed up in the ‘No referendum, no election’ slogan.
According to INEC, it registered 84,004,084 voters out of which the South East zone registered 10, 057, 130 (11.97%), being the least among the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.
In the five states of the zone, uncollected PVCs amount to 2.003 million as at the time of this report, with Imo State in the lead with 600,000 uncollected PVCs out of 2.27 million registered voters.
Abia State has a total of 378,000 uncollected PVCs out of 1.93 million registered voters, and Anambra State has 310,000 PVCs uncollected out of 2.44 million registered voters in the state.
In Ebonyi State, 215,000 PVCs are yet to be collected out of 1.45 million registered voters, and in Enugu State, there are 500,000 uncollected PVCs out of 1.94 million registered voters.
Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Francis Ezeobi (Imo); Leo Ikedife (Head, Voter Education, Anambra State); Prof Godswill Obioma, and other commissioners recently addressed journalists in their respective states to confirm the worrisome figures of uncollected PVCs.
The General Assembly of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide had, last week, alleged that the huge number of uncollected PVCs in the South-East and other parts of the country where Igbo people reside was deliberately orchestrated as part of plans by mischief makers, in collaboration with corrupt officials, to disenfranchise Ndigbo in the forthcoming election.
In a statement issued in Abakaliki on Friday, the group had called on prominent Ndigbo to mobilise in ensuring the massive collection of PVCs belonging to Ndigbo across the country.
According to them, “OYC General Assembly frowns at the numerous uncollected PVCs across the South East and other parts of the country where Igbos reside; these uncollected PVCs are the efforts of mischief markers who are collaborating with corrupt INEC officials to deny numerous Igbos their civic right to vote the candidates of their choice in the 2019 general elections.”
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Abia State, Dr. J.V.C. lloh, spoke on the efforts to distribute all the PVCs in his office.
He said: “I am working and holding meetings with the traditional rulers, religious bodies, town union presidents and their secretaries; civil society organisations; the Amalgamated Traders’ Association; Abia youths and students in order to find out how best the uncollected PVCs would be distributed to their owners.”
“Presently, the Independent National Electoral Commission has decided to devolve the collection of the permanent voter cards to ward level before the 2019 general elections,” said Dr. Iloh.
Also speaking with Daily Independent, His Royal Highness, Eze Linus Mba, Chairman, Council of Traditional Rulers in Arochukwu Local Government Area, expressed worry over the large number of uncollected PCVs across the South-East zone and, according to him, the situation will reduce the expected number of vote count for the said zone.
“But I am optimistic that before election starts, most people will collect their PVCs”, he said.
On the threat by IPOB, he said: “I don’t agree that we will suffer any electoral misfortune based on IPOB threat of no referendum no election.
“The security operatives are working on that issue. It is indeed in our interest to vote and I urge all the youths in the South East to mobilise and vote instead of resorting to violence on election day.”
