The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Cross State, Dr. Okey Ezeani, on Monday disclosed that 26, 466 Permanent Voters Card were distributed to registered voters in the state in three days.
A total of 1,025,760 PVCs were received from the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja for registered voters in Cross River. Out of the figure, only 261,416 PVCs were collected as of September 2014, representing about 60 per cent.
However, Ezeani said going by the latest distribution, which officially reopened on Friday (January 16) but had been ongoing, over 73 per cent of the PVC had been distributed in the state, adding that the commission might achieve about 100 per cent success at the end of the exercise on February 8 .
He spoke in Calabar when he led a team of INEC delegation on courtesy visit to the Cross River State Council of Chiefs chaired by the Paramount Ruler of Bakassi, Etim Okon-Edet.
Ezeani said, “We have achieved 73 per cent distribution so far. Not less than 26, 466 PVCs were collected by registered voters in three days in Cross River. We started this new distribution exercise on January 16 and it will last till February 8. At least 8, 500 PVCs are collected daily and if this is so, we would have exhausted them and achieved 100 per cent distribution by February 8.”
The Resident Electoral Commissioner solicited the support of the traditional rulers in using town criers in their respective domain to reach the grassroots so that all the PVCs could be collected.
“The commission is carrying out aggressive enlightenment programmes to educate and sensitise Nigerians on their expectations and the activities of the commission towards elections. Different activities have been organised and some ongoing for stakeholders and voters.
“The use of town criers is one area the commission is adopting to reach the grassroots. And this is where your assistance will be greatly needed,” he said.
In his response, the chairman of the state Council of Chiefs, Etim Okon-Edet, gave his personal opinions on why possibly the number of uncollected PVCs were still high.
He said, “I am sure politicians thought it might be business as usual so they took people to register haphazardly, unfortunately when they saw that the game had changed, they could not take the people to collect their cards.
“On the other hand it may be apathy and the registered voters are thinking that the politicians are still the same people coming so they felt there was no need to collect their PVCs.”
The paramount ruler, however, promised that with the latest window on distribution, traditional rulers would seek all means to sensitise their subjects on the need for collection.
