Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Civil Liberties Organisation has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to keep an eye on any staff members who are preventing the smooth collection of Permanent Voter Cards in certain South-East regions.
According to The News Agency of Nigeria, this was stated by the Chairman of CLO in Anambra, Vincent Ezekwueme on Sunday.
Ezekwueme stated that his organization has received and continues to receive a flood of complaints from registrants who have struggled to register and continue to find it difficult “if not impossible” to collect their PVCs in the South-East, particularly in Anambra
He stated that one pertinent query from disgruntled Anambra registrants is whether INEC officials treat residents of other states equally because their friends and family from other states had informed them of how simple it was to obtain their PVCs.
“An elderly statesman and community leader, Chief Mentus Onwuaso, decried how he tried unsuccessfully three times to register to no avail until the intervention of CLO and still for three times he has been to INEC office to collect his PVC, without success.
“Also, Chief Joseph Okeke lamented that he abandoned his business for three days to obtain his PVC without success.
“A nursing mother, Mrs Elizabeth Obi, told us that she had gone to get her PVC as a patriotic and law-abiding citizen but was unsuccessful.
“This frustration and discouragement may lead to abandonment of many PVCs and disenfranchisement of many residents,” he said.
Ezekwueme asked INEC to use its searchlight to find bad eggs among its staff who were making it hard to get PVCs and bring them to court. He said that this would definitely stop others from doing the same thing