INEC Officials In Imo Accused Of Seeking Gratification For PVC Distribution

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Some residents of Imo State still finding it hard to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) have accused some staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) handling the distribution of subjecting them to payment of ransom before they get their PVCs.

They have also accused the INEC of sabotaging the process by hoarding Permanent Voter Cards, something they described as a deliberate attempt to disenfranchising electorates.

The disgruntled electorates advised the INEC to shift the election to allow all registered voters in the State get their voter’s cards.

Despite the extension of the collection deadline to February 8, these controversies still trail the exercise in Imo State.

A trip to some of the distribution centres in the city of Owerri, the Imo State capital in south-east Nigeria, showed that most voters get disappointed on getting to the centres. They complain and are exhausted after waiting for several hours at the centre to collect but all to no avail.

‘Disenfranchisement’

Their complaints are that the INEC officials are not even given concrete information about their cards.

A woman waiting to get her PVC said the process was slow and unorganised.

A clergyman, at one of the centres said the time for the voter’s cards collection was short.

“If some people cannot get their Permanent Voter Card before the election, that is disenfranchisement,” he said.

In another polling centre at Ikenegbu, within the city, electorates complained that the INEC officials attending to them were subjecting people to paying of ransom before giving them their cards.

The INEC officials, however, denied the allegations.

While addressing some civil servants and teachers in the state the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, declared a 2-day public holiday which would observed on Thursday and Friday.

He said the holiday would enable all residents of the state collect their cards at the collection centres.

With just 11 days to the general elections, it is expected that the INEC will address all the issues raised and ensure that all registered voters get their PVCs to enable them carry out their civic responsibility.