INEC And PVC Issuance

One of the most contentious issues con
cerning this year’s general elections,
is the introduction by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) as a key prerequisite for participation in the electoral process.
In fact, it was indeed INEC’s position that only would-be voters with the PVC will be eligible to vote. To that end, INEC assured Nigerians that issuance of the permanent cards to already registered voters and those to register would be concluded before the elections.
But as soon as the first set of registers was displayed for voters to obtain their PVC’s, it was a catalogue of complaints covering missing names, wrong data and inconsistent voting units. In Lagos, for instance, Governor Fasola’s name was no where to be found. His was not on any voter register.
If a governor could suffer such disenfranchisement, there is no telling how many ordinary Nigerians would have endured similar fate.
In fact, Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu was so inundated with complaints arising from the exercise that he called for a reversal of the status quo until INEC was fully prepared to register and provide all voters with the PVC’s. It was Aliyu’s fear that the exercise would not be able to capture all potential voters before the elections.
INEC, on its part admitted that it was under intense pressure to suspend the PVC issuance exercise and instead work with the temporary cards or accept both, for fear of disenfranchising any voter on account of INEC’s errors. What INEC did not say, is whether or not it is considering the suggestions.
The Tide is concerned that less than five weeks to the first set of elections Nigerians are still raising issues bordering voter registration and issuance of PVC’s to already registered voters.  Such a situation is indeed unhealthy and poses a huge threat to a hitch-free election.
It should worry all Nigerians that some potential voters are still complaining about difficulties identifying their names on existing voter registers displayed in various units, in all states of the federation. Even more worrisome is the fact that strange and questionable voter names like Mike Tyson, Mohammed Ali and George Bush still appear on displayed registers across states of the federation.
We think that INEC needs to address the issue of an authentic voter register as an issue of national emergency to prevent the familiar post-election protest often associated with such administrative shortfalls. We expect the electoral umpire to consider the complaints and take a decision on the matter of Permanent Voter Cards issuance.
Rather than disenfranchise potential voters for no fault of theirs, INEC should suspend the exercise and concentrate more on producing an authentic voters register that captures all real voters and eliminate ghost voters.
Under the new arrangement, every adult Nigerian with either a temporary or permanent voter-card, should be allowed to vote, while extra effort is also made to capture all new voters who turned 18 years after the last exercise.
The authenticity of any election rests on an authentic voter-data, captured in a verifiable voter register that is free of ghost voters. INEC must strive to achieve this feat as a first step and all others would follow.
Considering the level of awareness created among the electorate and the interest being shown by the average Nigerian, nothing must be spared to ensure that the outcome of the elections indeed reflect the yearning of the people. This is why INEC must take the necessary steps to address the issue of PVC’s once and for all.
Nigerians expect nothing less.