The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday differed with the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, over the emergence of strange “alien” 600,000 Permanent Voter Cards in the state.
The electoral body made its position known as members of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights staged a protest in Abeokuta, the state capital, over the irregularities in the distribution of PVCs in the state.
The CDHR members, led by its chairman, Comrade Yinka Folarin, had marched from Kuto Roundabout to the INEC office in Magbon area of Abeokuta, saying they have no confidence in the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to conduct free, fair and transparent elections.
It will be recalled that Amosun, last week, accused INEC of allegedly plotting to disenfranchise 800,000 eligible voters in the state and also raised the alarm over 600,000 “strange” PVCs, which he said had surfaced in the state.
But addressing the CDHR protesters, the INEC Administrative Secretary in the state, Dickson Atiba, debunked the existence of strange PVCs in the state.
Atiba explained that the owners of the cards were people living in the state before but who had relocated due to one reason or another.
He also disclosed that the commission had collected 1,368,875 PVCs from Abuja out of which 795,962 were distributed so far by eligible voters.
He said: “There are no alien cards in Ogun State.
“Those cards that the governor are referring to as alien cards are those that are meant for the state.
“Ogun State has the largest number of institutions and some students who were here before and have completed their studies and some security personnel who have been transferred out of the state have their cards lying fallow with us here.
“Who will collect it on their behalf?
“As at the time the governor was here last week, the number was something around 600,000 plus, but as we are speaking now, the number has reduced to 573,236.
“These numbers are those that are yet to be collected and we are not sleeping over it.
“We even received about 21 cards meant for Edo State and we have since returned them.
“I have instructed all the electoral officers across the state to forward the names of those that have not come to pick their cards and we will compile them and paste them at every local government area.
“That will as well hasten people to just get there, check their names and once it is there, their cards will be given to them without much stress.”
The INEC official, however, promised that all the remaining PVCs meant for the state would be delivered before the end of this month.
Folarin called for the extension of the closing date for the collection of PVCs across the country from March 8 to March 19.
Folarin also urged INEC to move the distribution of voter cards through the polling units and not wards across the 20 local government areas of the state.