By Bose Adelaja

It is no longer news that the long-awaited general elections slated to kick-off with the Presidential and National Assembly elections have since been postponed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The Commission had cited among other reasons for shifting the elections the security challenge occasioned by the terrorist activities of the Boko Haram in the North Eastern parts of the country. Another key reason it advanced for this, was the failure of many prospective voters to collect their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, from the designated INEC offices nation-wide.

Lagosians checking their names on the INEC list of permanent voters cards (PVC) around 3 pm. at Sunday Adigun polling Unit, Alausa, Ikeja …File Photo

Indeed, the seeming apathy being displayed by many Nigerians towards the collection of the PVCs has been a source of concern to INEC and the various political parties presently campaigning for the elections. This is even as there have been conflicting claims on the part of these bodies as why this is the case. INEC, for instance, has severally been criticised by both the leading political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC, of not living up to expectation in ensuring a hitch-free PVC collection exercise. This followed reports that many prospective voters are having a hard time collecting their PVCs in their various areas of registration.

Areas of registration

Indeed when Vanguard Metro, VM, visited some of the PVC distribution centres in Oyo, Lagos and Ogun states last week, it was observed that not only is it that many are yet to collect their PVCs, but are also in the dark on how the process works.

A good example is Mr Adeoyo Fidelis who resides in Ibadan but works in Lagos where he registered for the election. Finding it difficult to collect his PVC in Lagos, he had gone ahead to re-register in Ibadan. But the snag is that having been finger-printed in Lagos during his first registration, this automatically voids his second registration, thus denying him the right to vote.

This situation applies to many who may still be going around in search of their PVCs, according to a finger print analyst Mr Paul Olufemi who served in the finger print department in the Central Criminal Registry CCR, Alagbon, Lagos.

Another observation was that INEC may have set its priority wrong since many PVCs were taken to unknown locations thereby misleading several of those seeking registration. An example is Mr Dayo Adeosun who surfed the internet and discovered his PVC was taken to a different location from where he was supposed to collect it. On account of this, he rushed to the collection centre on February 2, 2015 only to find the place locked up and INEC officials unavailable to discharge their duties.

VM discovered some unclaimed PVCs at the distribution centres during the visit as many registrants may have relocated, died or faced other challenges such that they may not bother to show up.

To Madam Adedeji Temiloluwa, who once lived at Ketu Alapere but relocated to Ikorodu in year 2011, collecting the PVC is a difficult task. In the process of trying to register, she visited a centre in Ikorodu for weeks, leaving her home 5am daily for the centre. But each day, she ended up not getting registered because her number was usually close to 300 and the machines are only able to capture 100 persons daily. In her desperation, she had swapped position on the queue with a sympathetic neighbour. But since the PVC has her own features but another person’s name, the registration was voided.

During VM’s visit to Alagbole Akute in Ifo local government, Odogbolu local government, Ogun State and Eleyele, Ibadan, Oyo State in the past one week, there were long queues of people awaiting to collect PVCs with only few INEC hands attending to the mammoth crowd of prospective voters.