315,000 PVC Yet To Be Claimed in Kwara, Says  REC

By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Kwara State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Alhaji Garbage Madami, at the weekend said a total number of 315,000 permanent voters cards (PVCs) are yet to be claimed by registered voters since 2015 till date in the state.

Malami disclosed this in Ilorin during a courtesy visit to the Correspondents’ Chapel of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). 

He said only 160,000 eligible voters had so far registered since the commencement of new voters registration exercise in the state.

The INEC commissioner, who said 1.2 million eligible voters are expected from the state for the 2019 general election, added that strategy had been mapped out to address poor registration of voters.

He stated that part of the strategies was to deploy officers to rural areas of the state to register eligible voters as against local government headquarters where registration points are. 

The REC, who said Kwara State would be the cynosure of all eyes during the 2019 general election judged by political actors’ recent defections and number of aspirants in the state, added that his mission was to achieve free, fair and credible conduct of polls to be applauded by all stakeholders. 

He advised the people to shun violence, saying they should not see the coming election as a do-or-die affair.

“No politician is worth dying for. We should all join hands to sustain and maintain peace and harmony that this state has been known for. This is more so because there’s nothing that can be achieved without peaceful environment,” he said.

Reacting to complaints over alleged political and religious discrimination by some INEC officials at some registration centres in the state, the INEC boss said such acts would not be tolerated, adding that the reports would be investigated. 

He also said measures to contain anxiety over registration or collection of PVCs by enthusiastic eligible voters had been mapped out, assuring them that there would be improvement.