Some political parties in opposition in Imo State have vowed to resist the alleged plans to rig the November 11 governorship election by urging Imolites to be vigilant over their votes.
The political parties, which include AA, PDP, YPP, and ADC, have also advised residents of Imo State to go out and pick up their uncollected Permanent Voters Cards and use them for the revolution in the November 11 governorship election.
The call is in reaction to reports by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, stating that there were 134,000 uncollected PVCs in the state.
According to the Action Alliance, AA State Publicity Secretary Salvator Amadi said: “The PVCs are uncollected because INEC, supposed to be an impartial umpire, has consistently demonstrated that it is an appendage of the ruling APC.
He added, “What is needed to encourage voters to collect their PVCs is massive sensitization via the media.
What INEC is doing wrong regarding PVC collection is the extortion of money from the people before releasing the cards, under the excuse of paying for fuel for generators in the absence of electricity.”
He said that INEC must stop taking Nigerians for fools in the sense that they cannot continue to give the impression that their votes do not count and still expect them to waste their time and resources to collect PVCs.
In his remark, the state director of new media for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lancelot Obiaku, blamed the low number on the performance of the electoral umpire and the security agencies in the last general election.
He described it as a protest against injustice and electoral malpractice, backed by institutions that ordinarily should promote justice and fairness.
He added: “The people are angry over a situation where the PDP was getting landslide victories in various constituencies of the state, only for INEC and security agencies to collude with the APC to rig the elections.
However, as a party, we are not worried, as even if an average of ten people come out to vote at all the polling units, seven will vote for the PDP.
We are only demanding that the security agencies and INEC be fair. We will win the governorship election. Imo people will not condone any form of injustice again.”
Also speaking, the 2023 Deputy Director of Media and Publicity of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, Michael Anyanwu, said that certain factors could account for low PVC collection across the 27 local government areas of Imo State.
He said that while some registered voters are complicit because they refuse to go for their PVCs, a lack of trust in the electoral process has brought about political apathy, thereby discouraging many from going to pick up their PVCs.
According to him, INEC stepping up their game by ensuring that credible and transparent elections are conducted all over can help to address this challenge.
He added: “The collection of PVC is free, but some corrupt officials of the Commission in some areas have been reported to seize the opportunity to extort those who come to collect their PVCs.
If you are not yielding to the extortion, they deliberately frustrate you from getting your PVC. Many who can’t pay or stand the frustration end up abandoning their PVCs.
The Commission needs to have a dedicated feedback channel through which such incidents can be reported.
And once such reports come, they should be taken seriously and punish any of their officials that are found culpable.”
Adding his voice, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, National Vice Chairman South East, Chilos Godsent, said: “Recently, the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that 134,000 PVCs are still waiting for collection by the owners.”
He said that from the findings of the party ADC South East Zone, the electorate has not been able to show up to collect their PVCs because of a lack of confidence that INEC will conduct a credible and transparent election in the forthcoming governorship election scheduled for November 11, 2023.
The party, therefore, charged INEC to immediately engage the electorates in a holistic multi-stakeholder town hall meeting in the twenty-seven local government areas of the state to sensitise the electorates on the need for their active participation in elections.
He added, “ADC hereby calls on Imolites to go and collect their PVCs to deepen the ballot revolution that is ongoing in Nigeria.”
Earlier, in the Owerri office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Sylvia Agu, said that Imolites have been urged to come for their PVCs at the respective INEC LGA offices. Apart from the 27 LGA offices, INEC has also created some centres for PVC collection for those registration areas with more than 1000 uncollected PVCs.”
Reacting, the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Cajethan Duke, dismissed the allegations by the opposition parties, describing their claims of the party plotting to rig the election as false and propaganda.
He said, “The opposition parties would always sing a discordant tune. Of course, their claims are false; this is pure propaganda to whip up sentiments.”
He recalled that this was how they raised propaganda during the March presidential election in the country, stating that the APC was filling up names in the INEC papers.
However, everything turned out to be false. That now they have come again to Imo because they know that Senator Hope Uzodimma has distinguished himself with his landmark projects and development of the state.
He said, “The truth of the matter is that there is no way INEC will record a total collection of all the PVCs. The opposition knows this, but just because they know they will not win against the man who has provided infrastructural development for his people, it’s not true that APC is planning to rig the forthcoming election.”
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