Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) yesterday said 2,179 Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, were snatched by unknown persons during a distribution exercise in Nasarawa State.

Resident Electoral Commissioner, (REC), in the state, Abdullahi Danyaya, disclosed this yesterday at a stakeholders meeting in Lafia, the state capital.

He said out of 1,223,388 PVCs received by the commission, 956,468 have been distributed, while 266,920 were yet to be distributed.

He further stated that the commission received 1,807 card readers in readiness for the February polls, while 750 were being expected.

According to Danyaya, the card readers are among innovations the commission introduced in the electoral process to checkmate fraud.

He said INEC has not made any provision for special polling units for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the state due to non-existence of refugee camp in the state.

The INEC official noted that the commission’s office in Lafia had received ballot boxes and other non-sensitive materials for conduct of the general elections in the state.

Corroborating the views of security heads in the state, Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Musa Andekin, warned politicians to avoid issues that would degenerate into bloodshed before, during and after the elections.

His words: “Nasarawa is a fragile state because killings have taken place for some time therefore, we need no more bloodshed.

Security agencies are committed to peaceful election; hence, I call for cooperation among stakeholders to ensure peaceful conduct of the general elections.”

•Source: National Mirror.