12th January, 2023
The Labour Party (LP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately slowing the pace of the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Dr Yunusa Tanko, the chief spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Committee (LP-PCC) made the allegation on Wednesday at a media briefing in Enugu.
He said INEC “deliberately designed weak operations“ so as not to create the impression that it has a “hidden script unknown to the public.”
Tanko added that the electoral body must immediately and speedily deliver PVCs to Nigerians to enable them to vote in the forthcoming general polls.
He expressed concern that the electoral body has less than two weeks to deliver the PVCs, pointing out that INEC appeared to be unconcerned about the date.
He wondered how INEC would be able to meet up with the deadline to ensure that Nigerians receive their PVCs within the stipulated period.
“INEC has less than two weeks to deliver PVCs to Nigerians and the reports we are receiving nationwide about the ineptitude of its staff are disheartening and frustrating most PVC collectors.
“We have received reports from all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria and the messages are all the same, people complaining of the snail pace at which the PVCs are being distributed,“ Tanko said.
“People go and queue for hours to collect their PVCs and out of about 500 on the line, fewer than 20 of them are able to collect theirs.
“What kind of miracle is INEC going to perform that will ensure Nigerians get their PVCs within this short period if there’s no sinister motive underneath,” the Labour PCC spokesman asked.
He noted that though the process for the collection of the PVCs started on Dec.12 and was expected to end on Jan. 22, many potential voters were complaining that the process was cumbersome.
“We have said it in different fora that on no account should any Nigerian be denied his inalienable right to cast his ballot,” he said.