The Southern and Northern leaders have raised the alarm over the ongoing collection of Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs.

The alarm was in connection with the frustration by Nigerians in the ongoing collection exercise, which has continued to generate mixed reactions, despite repeated promises by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the exercise would be fair to everyone.

In many parts of the country, especially in Southern states, Nigerians in their thousands who have been trying, but without success to pick their PVCs, said the frustration might be part of a deliberate move to disenfranchise them.

In Edo, Enugu, Rivers, Lagos, Kano, Oyo and other cities, findings by Saturday Sun revealed that many Nigerians were yet to collect their PVCs, including the nation’s capital, Abuja.

INEC had previously said it would end the PVC collection on 22 January 2023, having started the process on December 12, 2022.

After deliberations at the commission’s headquarters on Thursday, its commissioner for Voter Education, Festus Okoye, announced a new deadline for the PVC collection.

After a week of distributing the PVCs at Local Government Offices, INEC took the distribution exercise to the Registration Areas/Wards from January 6.

The distribution at the ward level, earlier scheduled to end on 15 January, has been extended to continue until 22 January, when the exercise would be taken back to the local government offices.

Amid the rush, allegations of extortion by staff and officials of INEC, have continued unabated.

But the commission said it is investigating the allegations by officials and “some unscrupulous voters’ trying to circumvent the process at some of the collection centres. Those found culpable will face disciplinary action and/or prosecution.”

While describing the difficulties that Nigerians are experiencing in getting the PVCs as very unfortunate, the apex Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere implored both the federal government and INEC to find urgent ways to address the issue in view of the fact that the elections are fast approaching.

The group’s spokesman, Mr. Jare Ajayi said: “Why must Nigerians be experiencing this ugly development? It is very sad that it has become a tradition that when Nigerians want to collect something of national importance, they must go through this kind of experience. Look at what happened with the collection of the National identity card, it is the same thing.

“Some Nigerians are yet to collect it even up till now. However, in view of the time frame between now, and the time of the elections which is very short, something urgent must be done to ensure that the issue is frontally addressed.”

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