Ahead of the 2023 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC on Wednesday unveiled 1,854,859 newly printed Permanent Voter Cards ,PVCs
In addition, 78.7% of newly registered voters are youths, who represented ages 18-34 years were 1,093,834.
Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who unveiled the PVCs in Abuja, during a press conference, announced that the PVCs will be delivered to INEC State Offices nationwide over the Easter holiday.
“Consequently, a total of 1,854,859 PVCs are now ready. They will be delivered to our State offices across the country over the Easter holiday.
“They will be available for collection by the actual owners in person immediately after the holiday. No PVC will be collected by proxy. I must reiterate that the available cards only cover those who registered in the First and Second Quarters of the exercise, the chairman said”.
He assured that new registrants and those who registered between January and March 2022 will have their PVCs ready for collection before 2023 General Elections.
The Chief Electoral Umpire however expressed worry over the persistence of invalid registration , despite repeated warnings by the commission against the illegal action.
According to Mahmood, “Presently, nearly 45% of completed registrations nationwide are invalid, rising to as high as 60% or more in some States. This infraction happened in all States of the Federation. No State is immune from it.
“These invalid registrations will not be included in the Register of Voters. In our commitment to transparency,
“This development is worrisome because of the time and resources expended in handling these cases. Even more disturbing are the strong indications that some of our staff may be complicit in facilitating these infractions, notwithstanding stern warnings”.
He hinted that the Commission was already reviewing reports and has commenced a detailed investigation that would lead to the prosecution of those registrants and INEC staff associated with the infractions in line with Sections 22 and 23 of the Electoral Act 2022.
He urged Political parties , the media , civil society organizations and the general public to assist the commission in educating Nigerians about the problem of invalid registration.
