Festus Okoye, national commissioner for information of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the electoral body will
soon release a report on permanent voter cards (PVCs) found in questionable
places.
Okoye spoke on Thursday during a workshop on election
reporting organised by the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNFJ).
In the past weeks, there have been several reports of PVCs
found under the ground and in the possession of individuals.
In July 2022, a video showing several PVCs buried in Imo
went viral on social media.
At the time, INEC had said it is not taking the allegations
lightly, and that it has “commenced immediate investigation and anyone found
culpable in this diabolical scheme clearly intended to disenfranchise Nigerians
will be sanctioned under the law”.
Also in November, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) said
513 national identity cards and permanent voter cards (PVCs) were retrieved
from foreigners in Katsina.
Speaking at the workshop on vote buying and election
manipulation, Okoye said “very soon, the commission will release a report
relating to all the PVCs people said were found in gutters and on the streets
of Lagos”.
“This nation will be
shocked,” he added.
“Those who have bought PVCs thinking they can influence the
result of an election are the ones who are opposed to the use of the BVAS.
“We have made it very clear that if the BVAS cannot capture
your fingerprint and face, we will not allow you to vote.”
Okoye added that INEC will carry out mock accreditation in
all the states of the federation and all the senatorial districts.
“We did the same mock
accreditation in Ekiti and we also carried it out in the Osun governorship
election. We’ll do it so people can have a feel of the workings of the BVAS and
how it will be deployed for the election,” he said.
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