The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in
Lagos has denied allegations by the Peoples Democratic Congress (PDP) that it
was working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the
collection of permanent voter cards (PVCs) in the state.
The PDP at a news conference on Monday, had reportedly
alleged manipulation, oppression, and intimidation of voters by the APC in the
state.
The party alleged some INEC staff were aiding the APC in
doing so.
According to NAN, in a statement on Tuesday, Olusegun
Agbaje, INEC’s resident electoral commissioner in Lagos, said the commission
read the allegations with “great consternation”.
“It is pertinent to
clarify and correct the frivolous accusation by PDP that some INEC staff are
colluding with members of the ruling party in the state to deny some groups of
people access to collect their PVCs,” Agbaje said.
“Mention was equally made of Mr Muyiwa Yusuf, the head of
department VR/ICT INEC in the state who was alleged to have connived with the
APC to clone the faces of voters through the privileged access he has to the
PVCs.
“It has become necessary to comment on the recent report
which far from being true, was a gross misrepresentation and diversionary both
in content and context.
“It is obvious that
this orchestrated story by PDP was fabricated to distort the reputation of INEC
in the state and to soil the name of the officer in question.”
Agbaje said eligible Nigerians were at no point denied their
rights to collect the PVCs in all the 20 LGAs of the state.
“INEC has neither political affiliation nor inclination with
any party in the state. Collection of PVC is based on a first-come,
first-served,” he said.
He added that INEC’s bimodal voter accreditation system
(BVAS) would not authenticate any cloned PVCs on election day.
“The exercise being
embarked upon in the commission at the moment is the scanning of PVCs to
harvest phone numbers of eligible registrants yet to collect their cards with a
view to contacting them via bulk sms,” the statement reads.
“The commission strongly believes in equity, transparency,
integrity, and fairness in the conduct of her business.
“We shall continue to uphold these fundamental principles in
the discharge of our constitutional duties and responsibilities as an unbiased
umpire to all stakeholders.”
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