the rescheduled 2015 general elections may have been dashed. This
followed the reports around the state that officials of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,are charging
prospective voters between N2,000 and N3,000 issuance of their
Permanent Voter's Cards (PVCs). Since the postponement of the election
by the commission as a result of the insecurity and inadequate
distribution of the PVCs, there has been an upsurge in the number of
people seeking to collect their PVCs in various local government
headquarters, wards and polling units across the state.
This came as most employers in the state demanded the cards as a
prerequisite for payment of January and February salaries to their
employees. While the exercise was successful in some local government
areas and wards in the state, it did not see of the state and in many
other areas, it is complaints of extortion or between the sum of N200
and N3000. Some of the affected areas visited byThe UNION included
many polling booths in Owerri Municipal; Mbaitoli Local Government
Headquarters, Nworieubi; Obazu Mbieri and Obakuru Mbieri as well as
Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government Area. While no prospective
voter has received the cards in the three wards in Atta in Njaba LGA,
in Owerri North LGA, only three wards--Amakohia, Akwakuma and
Awaka/Ihitte Ogada-- out of the 12 wards have got their PVCs.
As at the time of filing this report, while the people of Umunam Atta
were only told by INEC officials in Njaba LGA to report on Monday
February 16 at the community centre to get their cards, there seems to
be no solution for those of Owerri North LGA. This has since generated
public outcry. This is despite the concerns raised by the state
Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Dr. Gabriel Ada, that the people
were yet to collect the less than 60 percent PVCs available for the
state. Ada had said at a press conference last month that "the
statistics of the card distribution in the state is still below 60 per
cent and this does not augur well for a full participatory democracy
which we anticipate. This is totally unacceptable to the Commission".
He had stated further that, "given this, the Commission has
recommended that we go back to the field for another ten days to
distribute these PVCs to their rightful owners, but at the
Registration Area (Ward) level.
This is in bid to ensure that every Nigerian is given an opportunity
to exercise his/her franchise." When The UNION visited Holy Ghost
College and Uzii Primary School, Owerri, it was observed that the INEC
officials were charging people N200 before they were issued their
PVCs.
One of the prospective voters who paid to collect her card, Mariana
Ibeh, told The UNION that she "felt embarrassed when the guy there
told us to pay N200 each before we could collect our PVCs. The reason
is that I didn't even come with any money apart from the one I was to
use to jump keke. But a nice guy there just helped me out with the
money." Investigations by The UNION reveal that it is the same story
at Uzii Primary School, Ikenegbu Girls Secondary School among other
polling units in the municipal council where they told the people to
pay N200 or they should go to the INEC headquarters. Similarly, at
Nwaorieubi the Mbaitoli Local Government headqurters where hundreds of
people trooped out from various communities to get their cards, there
was an ugly skirmish between the INEC officials and some of the
prospective voters over the high amount of money charged them to
collect their PVCs by the officials. According to an eyewitness, who
simply identified himself as Desmond, "we came here at Nwaorieubi, and
noticed that the condition to collect the PVCs is that you will pay
N500 and those with the money were told to queue on line. We were
patiently standing on the line waiting for our time to collect the
card".
Trouble however started when a young man who claimed to have come from
Port Harcourt told them to help him with his PVC, the officials were
said to have told him to drop something higher. "Instantly, the guy
gave them N3,000 and they abandoned those of us who were in the line
to attend to the guy and gave him his own PVC instantly. This led to a
friction and a boy switching off their generator causing them to
abandon their work that day. This is too bad for our people here
because many poor people don't even want to come near to the area
because they see any reason they should pay for a card they don't
derive benefit from". Also, in Obazu Mbieri and Obakuru Mbieri wards
in Mbaitoli LGA as well as Emeabiam in Owerri West LGA, prospective
voters were made to part with the sum of N200 and N1000 respectively,
though secretly.
Read more here:
t.co/hpRAklCJkn
--VOFNImo
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