Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Kogi State, Prof. James Apam, said the commission had attained 88.25 per cent distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in the state.
Apam disclosed this at a one-day Townhall Meeting with Women Groups and Gender-focused Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for enhanced participation of women in Elections on Friday in Lokoja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was organised by INEC in collaboration with Challenged Parenthood Network Initiative (CPNI), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), for enhanced participation of women in the elections.
Apam revealed that out of the 1.64 million registered voters in the state, 1.45 million had collected their PVCs leaving a balance of 193,381 uncollected cards as at Wednesday.
The REC who was represented by Alhaji Mohammed Sadiq, Administrative Secretary of the commission, urged women to take advantage of their numerical strength to increase their political participation by seeking elective positions.
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He said about 50 per cent registered voters that would be participating in the upcoming elections were women, adding that their numerical strength could be legitimately exploited to advance their cause.
Apam said the call was imperative in view of the pivotal role being played by women in strengthening the democratic processes in the country.
Alhaji Ahmed Biambo, Head, INEC Voter Education and Publicity (VEP) department, said the 88.25 per cent attained in the distribution of PVCs was an excellent result.
He said the commission was good to go adding that there were still queues of registered voters at various Local Government Council headquarters to collect their PVCs.
Biambo charged parents to caution their children and wards against thuggery and electoral violence, saying that violence during election was detrimental to political participation and good representation in governance.
Ms Eunice Agbogun, Executive Director, Challenged Parenthood Network Initiative (CPNI), reiterated the need for increased women participation in the elections as INEC alone could not do it.
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She said every stakeholder had a role to play to ensure that the elections were credible and violence free.
“We CSOs have been doing a lot of voter education and door-to-door election sensitisation to let the women know that they need to come out during this election.
“This is because we want to see more women in places of authority and so, we need more women to be elected. We need more women in places where they can influence policies that will help their cause,” she said.
NAN reports that market women, women lawyers, women in security organisations, women farmers and women living with disabilities among others were represented at the town hall meeting. (NAN)
