Enough is Enough Nigeria in conjunction with other civil society organisations has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC).
According to INEC’s timetable, the PVC collection will end on Sunday, 29 January 2023.
The group stated that the reports from different collection centres across the country revealed that several people who registered to vote will not get their PVC before the deadline.
According to the group, many registered voters were told by INEC officials that their PVCs were either unavailable or told to return on later dates after the deadline for their PVCs.
The group noted that the inability of INEC to produce the PVCs of registered voters was in contravention of the dictates of the Electoral Act 2022.
“This is a breach of the Electoral Act 2022 which mandates INEC in Section 16(1) to design, print and issue voter’s cards to voters whose names appear in the register of voters,” the group noted.
The group also noted that the inability of INEC to produce the cards of everyone who is registered contradicts the promise it made “that everyone registered and, in their database, will have their PVC provided and available for collection.”
“The emphasis on a deadline for collection is an indirect disenfranchisement of validly registered voters whose PVCs are not available due to INEC’s administrative lapses. Denying these voters their right to vote due to a failure on the part of INEC is unacceptable.
“And to be clear, this is not only a problem in Lagos. Citizens have provided reports from Abuja, Rivers, Delta, Anambra, Imo, Ondo, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Borno, Sokoto, Ogun, Kano, & Kwara.
“We also note the concern of the students who registered at home while tertiary institutions were shut down for over 8 months. According to INEC, 40% of the 9,518,188 newly registered voters are students. If they registered at home and are now at school, INEC must ensure they can pick up their cards in the least expensive way possible,” the group stated in a statement released on Friday.
Apart from calling on INEC to extend the deadline for the collection of the PVC, the group also called on INEC to do the following:
1. Inform Nigerians if it is still printing cards and when all the cards for registered voters will be available for collection.
2. Work with the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to ensure that there are no classes or exams the week before elections so students can go home to vote.
3. Communicate with newly registered voters especially students when the PVCs are ready.
4. Create a dedicated desk for civil society organisations, media and citizens to escalate the issues being observed for a quick resolution.
The civil society groups that signed the statement include the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), ConnectHub, Dataphyte, Enough is Enough Nigeria, FixPolitics, Kimpact Development Initiative, Reclaim Naija, Electoral College Nigeria, Women Advocates and Research Development Centre, and Yiaga Africa