Dr Mahmud Isa, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Jigawa, says 46,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are yet to be collected by their owners from the state’s INEC office.
Isah said this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Dutse office of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
He said that the commission had registered 130,000 eligible voters in the state since the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) commenced nationwide on April 27, 2017.
The REC described the development as “discouraging”.
He solicited the support of NAN in sensitising and enlightening the citizens of the state on the need and importance of acquiring the PVC ahead of the 2019 general elections.
According to him, NAN as media outfit, plays a key role in any democracy at local, state and federal levels.
“I am here with my team to pay a courtesy visit to NAN in Jigawa in order to establish a working relationship.
“This is because you play a key role in any democracy as a media agency.
“You are part and parcel of stakeholders who can shape democracy in this country,” the REC said.
Isah further said that INEC had the mandate to conduct free, fair, credible and successful elections in 2019.
He added that to achieve this, it needed the support of all stakeholders, including the media, traditional rulers and local government councils.
“INEC has a duty to deliver successful elections in 2019; and we want robust support from the people, the media, traditional rulers, local government councils and others to achieve our mandate.
“So, that is the reason why we are here today to seek your support, especially in sensitising the general public, particularly the rural dwellers.
“They need to register and obtain their PVCs before the 2019 general elections.
“Currently, we have two ongoing projects; the Continuous Voter Registration and PVCs collection.
“So far, we have 130,000 registrations from among the people of Jigawa, but we need more.
“We have about 46,000 uncollected PVCs in the state’s INEC office.
“So we want you to be part of our team in sensitising the people to come and collect their PVCs before the 2019 general elections,” he said.
Responding, the acting State Correspondent, Malam Muhammad Nasir, assured the REC of the agency’s support and corporation toward the successful conduct of the 2019 general elections.
Nasir also pledged that NAN would do its best in sensitising the general public on the need to register and collect their PVCs to be able to participate in the 2019 general elections.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2R40opWz9w]
