Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Tuesday raised the alarm over the number of permanent voter cards that have not been collected by their rightful owners in the southeast region.
He lamented that it was unacceptable that eligible Igbo people could be reminded of the need to collect their voter cards and vote in the upcoming elections.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo also called on other south-east governors to emulate Governors Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state and declare public holidays to compel residents to obtain Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
A statement from the National Publicity Secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia yesterday said: “Ohanaeze has expressed concern that there are thousands of permanent voter cards that have not been collected by their rightful owners.
“To this end, Ohanaeze distinguishes between strong campaigns and social media activism on the one hand and voting during elections on the other. When modern campaigns cannot be connected to the Internet, the so-called technological determinism: that is, the thought in some quarters that the Internet causes change -historical, economic, political and cultural changes, in fact, it is the voting behavior of the group that determines the election results in the polls.
“In other words, when dribbling the opponent in a football match is key, the number of goals scored will count. That is why it is strange that Igbo people of any class or creed will be reminded of the need to vote in the upcoming general election.
In addition, he called on the Association of South East Town Unions (ASETU) to deploy grassroots power to implement the “no pvc, no community rights” policy in all Igbo communities in all of Igboland.
“This is to emphasize that no native Igbo will allow local, personal or selfish interests to override the collective interest of the Igbo. So every Igbo must know that the PVC and voting on election day is a sinequanon for the actualization of the Igbo collective desideratum for 2023.