Abuja – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged registered voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of March 19 council polls in the area.
Hajiya Hammamatu Baba-Adamu, an official of the commission in charge of PVC distribution centre at Government Secondary School, Garki, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
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Baba-Adamu said that the turnout of the voters for collection of the cards had been low since the exercise commenced on Thursday in the area.
She said that there were many cards to be collected but lamented that the people were not enthusiastic about collecting them.
She said that as at 3.30 p.m. on Monday, only 50 PVCs had been collected at the centre.
“As you can see a lot of the cards are still uncollected. The distribution extends until Thursday, March 11, so we hope people would still come,’’ she said.
On enough awareness on the exercise, the INEC official said, “yesterday, I heard the jingle in five languages, English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and Gbagi on radio.
“There has been awareness but people are just not responding. After Thursday, the collection will continue until the 16th but at the Area Councils headquarters.’’
NAN reports that the situation at the Government Secondary School was same at other collection centres.
At Zone 1 LEA Primary School, Wuse, the INEC official in charge of the centre, Miss Hadiza Mohammed, said that only 25 PVCs had been collected as at 3.50 p.m.
“You can see bags of cards lying here waiting for their owners to come and collect.
“I am calling on the residents and those on transfers to come and collect their cards so as to allow them cast their votes in the forthcoming elections,’’ Mohammed said.
She said that PVCs being distributed included those uncollected in 2011 and 2015 and the new ones produced for newly-registered voters in the area.
NAN reports that there was no official or collector at the Wuse Zone 2 Secondary School collection center although the school was open.
Mr Adamu Sule, a registered voter who collected his PVC at Wuse Zone 2 Secondary School, urged people to go out and collect the cards at the centres, saying it was necessary.
He said that it would be more difficult to collect if the cards were returned to area councils’ secretariats at the end of the deadline.
“I registered in 2011 but could not collect it earlier because I could not find my Temporary Voter Card but I am happy that I have collected it now,’’ Sule said. (NAN)
