By CHARLES IWUOHA

No fewer than 127,424 permanent voter cards (PVCs) are yet to be claimed in Ebonyi state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed.

he INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Dr. Joseph Chukwuemeka, who disclosed this while recently briefing journalists in Abakaliki.

According to Chukwuemeka, as at March 15, 2022, about 127, 424 PVCs were still unclaimed and in our custody.

“These PVCs were collected from the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) and moved to the various INEC local government offices for collection by their owners,” he said.

The INEC official said that owners of the unclaimed PVCs must show proof of ownership before they would be allowed to collect them.

He described PVC as a very important document for election, saying, “it cannot be given by proxy for any reason.”

”I enjoin voters who registered in 2018 but have yet to collect their PVCs to visit the local government offices for identification and collection.

“It is the voter card that qualifies the electorate to vote, we need to collect them in order to exercise our franchise,” he said.

Chukwuemeka said that Abakiliki Local Government Area accounted for the highest number of unclaimed PVCs in the state with a total of 42,816 cards.

He said Afikpo North had 7,550 unclaimed PVCs, Afikpo South 3,011, Ebonyi 37,127, Ezza North 3,3,026, Ezza South 2,085,while Ikwo 9,836, Ishielu 2,446, and Ivo 3,124 had uncollected cards.

The REC further said Izzi accounted for 4,969 unclaimed PVCs, Ohaozara 1,885, Ohaukwu 6,620, while Onicha had 3,202 cards.

He said it was untrue that the PVCs obtained in 2018 had expired or could not be used for the 2023 general elections.

”PVCs issued by INEC do not expire, they have no expiry date written on them,” he said.

Chukwuemeka said that INEC had so far captured a total of 189, 645 persons in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the state.

”Since the CRV exercise began in June 28, 2021, we have captured no fewer than 189,645 eligible voters in the state as at March 15.

”This number comprises registrations done in the first, second and third quarters of the exercise, and we are making huge progress,” he said.

Chukwuemeka said that additional 16 INEC Voter Enrollment Device (IVED) have been deployed to complement the 15 machines earlier deployed for the exercise in the state.

”Prior to the commencement of the third quarter CVR exercise, registrations were restricted to INEC local government offices and the state headquarters.

”I am pleased to announce that approval has been given for registration to be carried out at registration areas and ward levels on structured movement of the IVED.

“The machines are moved from one area or ward to another on weekly basis to ensure proper coverage,” he said.

The REC warned members of the public against double registration to avoid being disqualified from voting.

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