INEC has distributed 75% of PVCs to Nigerians –Jega

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has declared that the commission
has so far distributed over 75 percent of the permanent voter
cards (PVCs) to registered voters across the country.
He spoke at a lecture at the Bayero University, Kano
yesterday. The lecture was entitled: “INEC and the 2015
General Elections: Expectations, Prospects and Challenges.”
Prof. Jega, also a former vice chancellor of Bayero University,
added that the commission had decentralised the distribution
of the remaining cards from the local government level to the
ward level, besides extending the time for the distribution.
The measures, he explained were to ensure voters collected
their cards with ease across the country.
His words: “We have distributed over 75 per cent of
permanent voter cards across this country. But there is still
anxiety on what would happen to the remaining cards, so we
have decentralised the process of distribution of the cards
from local government to ward level. We have also extended
the distribution time from its earlier times. This is to ease the
process for people to collect their cards.”
He assured that INEC was working very hard to ensure that all
registered voters in the country collected their PVCs before
general elections in February.
He insisted that the commission would not allow collection of
the cards by proxy, saying that would lead to irregularities
during the polls.
Jega disclosed that the results of the elections would be
announced at the polling units to avert irregularities, stressing
that the results would be announced even where an agent of a
political party decided not to sign the result sheet.
He added that men of proven integrity, who would be drawn
from the academia, would collate the results.
The INEC boss also acknowledged that the number of police
officers nationwide was not enough to man the 150,000 voting
points across the country. He explained that the electoral law
and guidelines provided for three security personnel to each
polling unit.
He, however, said the police would be complemented by other
security agencies to effectively cover the polling units and
achieve the desired results.
He commended the Department of State Service (DSS) and the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for their
contributions to the efforts of the commission to conduct
successful polls.
He stressed INEC’s commitment to credible elections next
month, assuring that the commission had taken steps to avoid
the mistakes of the past.