The leadership of traders in Lagos and the South East has ordered their members to obtain Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) in readiness to vote for the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, in the 2023 general election. In a video that went viral, an announcer, was seeing going round the Alaba Int’l Market, Lagos, and other markets in the South East zone, asking the traders to go an obtain their PVCs.

The announcer maintained that there would be a day the market would be locked down to enable the traders go and obtain their PVC, maintaining that showing their PVCs upon demand by the market leadership would be a condition precedent for doing business in the markets henceforth. A trader, Mr Daniel Sampson, who spoke with our correspondent said: “Peter Obi is our member.

He was a trader before he became Anambra State governor. He is still a trader. He knows our problems, particularly as it concerns import and export trade. “So, we will give him maximum cooperation in the election. Besides, he has enormous capacity and knowledge on how to reposition Nigeria. He is our choice and the choice of most Nigerians in this project.

Similarly, the South East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association has enjoined its members to go and obtain their PVCs. In a statement signed by the associations’ president general and secretary-general, Chief Gozie Akudolu and Alex Okwudili, respectively, the group said traders and their apprentices (who are of voting age) must obtain their PVCs in the circumstances. The group’s statement read in part: “To this effect, the association is further directing traders in all markets in Nigeria, as a matter of urgency, mandated all traders together with all apprentices who are up to 18 years and above, who are without voter’s cards to hurry to INEC registration centres close to them to register and collect their permanent voter’s cards.

“Those who registered around the markets but their residences are not close to the market, should use this opportunity to transfer to polling units close to them to enable them to vote with ease during elections. “The Association directs that this information be given wide publicity in all the markets across the states and in Nigeria at large.” New Telegraph gathered that there was upsurge of youths in INEC offices in the South East for registration for PVCs for the same objective. (New Telegraph: Excluding headline)

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