MAKURDI – The Benue Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Alhaji Abba Yusuf, said on Tuesday that the distribution of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) would commence in the state on May 23.
Yusuf made this known when he paid a courtesy call on the Chairman and members of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) in Makurdi.
“We have exactly 277 days from today to the 2015 general elections. We have undertaken human resource development through training, restructuring, consultations and partnership with all relevant stakeholders.
“The issuance of the permanent voter card will commence in 10 states of the federation in which Benue is inclusive.
“The date for its commencement is May 23. The PVC is to be collected from the polling units throughout INEC in the state.
“The Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) will therefore commence from May 28 at every ward in the state, “he said.
According to Yusuf, the 2014 CVR is only for people who have not been captured in INEC electronic register.
He said that those who were not up to 18 years as at 2011 and had attained the age would now be registered.
Those who had problems with the Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines and were not captured during the 2011 registration were also eligible to register, he said.
Yusuf warned that double registration was a crime punishable by the electoral law, adding that those who had lost their temporary voter cards would still be issued the permanent cards.
He said that all eligible voters must be physically present for the exercise as registration by proxy would not be accepted.
He described the media industry as one of the most important component of the society that was capable of making or marring the society.
He appealed to the media to assist the commission in enlightening the public about its activities.
In a remark, the state Chairman of the NUJ, Mr Kris Atsaka, assured the commissioner of the total support of the media and qualitative reportage of the commission’s activities. (NAN)