Scores of protesters from three local government areas in Ogun State on Wednesday stormed the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abeokuta over their inability to get Permanent Voter Cards.
The protesters who marched from the NNPC Junction in Abiola Way to INEC office, which is about 300 kilometres, came from the Yewa North, Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North local government areas.
Leading the protesters, a medical doctor and a three-time former commissioner in the state, Mr. Isiak Salako, said over 60,000 registered voters from the three local government areas might be disefranchised if they did not get their PVCs before the election on Saturday.
He said many of them registered in 2011, while some did in 2014, adding that they only had their Temporary Voter Cards, which did not qualify them to vote on Saturday and April 11.
He said, “I have come here with my people from the Yewa North and Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South local government areas.
“Over 60,000 of us have been denied our constitutional rights to vote for the candidate of our choice in the forthcoming elections by not having our Permanent Voter Cards.
“INEC has insisted that anybody who does not have a Permanent Voter Card will not be allowed to vote. This is my own Temporary Voter Card collected in 2011. Up till today (Wednesday) we have not seen our PVCs.”
Salako said the last resort for them, if eventually they did not get their PVCs before Saturday, was to go to court.
“We are not going to prevent anybody from doing his duty. But if any organisation is preventing us from performing our responsibilities, then we also have the responsibility to go to court.”
Another politician, Lanre Jaji, from the Abeokuta North Local Government, said INEC “must do something about the isue urgently.”
However, the head of General Administration and Procurement, INEC, Ogun State, Mr. Olatoye Olufemi, said the commission was working to ensure that all registered voters get their PVCs.
He said a member of staff was still in Abuja waiting for remaining consignment for the state.
He said, “At the moment, we have sent our official to Abuja to collect outstanding PVCs. But let me tell you that at this moment, the commission in Ogun State has been able to distribute over 70 per cent of the total number of PVCs received from Abuja, but we are still expecting more.”
Olufemi said the commission was still distributing PVCs in all the local government areas of the state.
Meanwhile, as of 5.07pm on Wednesday the state was still expecting the balance of 153,185 PVCs from Abuja.
The total registered voters in Ogun State are 1,795,794, while the total number received from Abuja so far is 1,642,607.
The total number distributed is 1,136,003, and the number that remained uncollected is 506,604.
