Razaq Bamidele
Sequel to the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at the wards level by the electorate across the country as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a civil society group, Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM), has mobilized it’s personnel to observe the process in Lagos State and also monitor reports via the media and other sources.
Executive Chairman of the group, Comrade Nelson Ekujumi, in a statement made bold to state that “our physical observation and monitoring of collection of PVC at various wards centres across Lagos State shows a fairly encouraging turnout of registrants on a daily basis.
“In most of the wards monitored across Oshodi, Agege, Alimosho, Apapa, Ajeromi Ifelodun, Ikorodu, Badagry, Kosofe and Ikeja local government council areas of Lagos state, reveal an average of 100 registrants collecting their PVC’s daily.
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“If we juxtapose this figures which is almost uniform across board with our people’s attitude to public interest issues, we are of the view that the turnout so far is encouraging though we recognize that we can still do better.”
The group therefore expressed the need to admonish all stakeholders to upscale the sensitization so that more people can come out to collect their PVC before the extended closing date of January 29, 2023.
“We make bold to state that from our observation of the process so far, we are confidently passing a Vote of Confidence on INEC for it’s professionalism and dedication to the seamlessness of the process.
“The electoral body has lived up to the billing in line with it’s mandate as enshrined in the Electoral Act and we are very proud of this, just as we are admonishing INEC to increase it’s staff strength at the centres to reduce the collection time by the registrants which we have identified as an area of shortcoming in the process.
“However, we are not oblivious of the attempts by anti democratic elements and agents of destabilization to impugn the integrity of the process through blackmail of fake news, falsehood, misinformation just to discredit INEC and derail our democracy.
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“We must report that from our observation of the process so far, most alarms of falsehoods of ethnicisation of the collection of the PVC have not been substantiated in any of the collection centres visited by our crew.
“We at CPPM hereby call on INEC to continue to monitor the process to sustain it’s integrity which is under threat from fake news by anti democratic elements and agents of anarchy, just as we admonish the electoral umpire to collaborate with the security agencies in investigating any observed or reported shortcomings and do the needful to arrest the situation as well as the arrest and prosecution of peddlers of fake news and misinformation who have become the greatest threat to our democracy and society.”
The group stated further that, “As we countdown to January 29th 2023; the closing date for the collection of PVC across the country, we call on Nigerians who are yet to pick their PVC to ensure that they go out to collect theirs notwithstanding the little inconvenience of the crowd at some centres, so that collectively we will determine with our votes at the polls. Our political destiny for a peaceful, progressive to and prosperous Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
