*Puts Nigeria’s Registered Voters At 103 Million
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will commence the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to eligible registered voters from Thursday, October 8.
Chairman of the commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), who stated this at a strategic engagement meeting with journalists in Abuja on Monday, October 5, explained that the exercise was expected to provide voters who recently registered, transferred their voting locations or requested replacement of damaged cards with access to their PVCs ahead of next year’s general elections.
He added that the PVCs distribution was part of ongoing preparations to ensure eligible Nigerians participate in the electoral process, adding that the Commission was strengthening the use of technology to ensure that stolen, lost or compromised voter cards cannot be used by unauthorised persons to interfere with the electoral process.
Amupitan warned political parties and their supporters against disrupting the campaigns, rallies and other activities of rival parties ahead of the elections.
Meanwhile, Amupitan has announced that the number of registered voters in Nigeria has risen to over 103 million ahead of the polls at the conclusion of the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which attracted 10,772,421 new registrants nationwide.
The INEC chairman, who disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at the strategic workshop with media executives organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), in collaboration with the Commission, said the Commission had completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its timetable for the elections.
