Plateau voters worried over missing PVCs

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, some voters in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, expressed concern over the inability of officials to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue Permanent Voter Cards (PVC).

The voters said they had visited the designated collection centers but INEC had repeatedly failed to provide them with voter cards.

In Jos, while some registration centers are quiet, while others are filled with people waiting to collect their PVCs.

Shu’aibu Hussaini, a resident of Jos said, “I came to pick PVC but could not collect it. He said he hadn’t seen me. This is the fifth time I have come here, but I have not succeeded. I can’t get my daughter and my two children. They always tell me to come back tomorrow but nothing will change. I’m tired of coming.”

Abubakar Danlladi, another resident of the town said: “I came to collect the PVC but they said that mine is not available. They told me that some of the PVC has not been brought. They asked me to check again if mine will be available. I will come back because I really want to PVC. It is very important to me.

“The people responsible for the distribution of the cards are making the process difficult, so it is difficult for us to collect the cards. Once they are organized, everything will be easy,” said Muhammad Usman, a resident of the town.

Despite these problems, the voters are hoping that INEC can find and distribute all the missing PVCs before the end of the collection exercise.

INEC, in December last year, said after January 15, 2023, the exercise would revert to the Local Government Office of the Commission until January 22, 2023.

Meanwhile, a group of Jos-based volunteers has started mobilizing registered voters to collect PVCs in designated areas, so that they can participate in the upcoming elections.

Despite the localization of the exercise, thousands of registered voters have not cast their cards at the designated centers.

Also read: 2023: Get your PVC, CAN get Christians

It is against the background that a volunteer group is mobilizing voters in the main streets and markets in Jos, encouraging them to pick their PVCs, so they can participate in the elections.

Although the commission announced the collection of PVCs through various channels, the group believes that it is important to maximize the publicity given the importance of the cards in the electoral process.

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