Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, has assured residents of Abeokuta South in Ogun State whose Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were burnt during an attack on the commission’s office by hoodlums will be reprinted to enable them exercise their civic duty.
The Commission made this known on Tuesday during a visit to the affected office in the state.
Recall on Thursday, November 10 some hoodlums attacked the INEC office at Iyana Mortuary in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of the State and set a portion of the office ablaze affecting the conference room and non-sensitive materials.
Meanwhile, the chairman reacting to the incident said that, despite, hoodlums attack on the offices, the commission will not lack in its responsibility in conducting a credible, free and fair elections in 2023, which will also serve as reference.
MAP NEWS reports that, Yakubu who disclosed that a total of 65,699 Permanent Voter Cards, (PVCs), were burnt at the office, pledged that the commission will reprint the cards within short period of time for the owners.
“The purpose of our visit to this office is to further access the extent of damage, to meet our own staff, particularly in the place where they have relocated to in Oke-Ilewo, to boost their morale and to assure the people of Abeokuta South that in spite of this unfortunate incident, elections will hold in Abeokuta South in 2023”, he emphasised.
“Whatever materials we have lost, the commission is making efforts to replace the materials. We lost 65,699 PVCs, we want to assure all those that have not collected their PVCs who may have been affected that we are making plans to reprint the PVCs quickly and to bring them back to Abeokuta South for people to collect and vote”, Yakubu stated.
“We want to assure the people of Abeokuta South that this incident, terrible as it is will not deter and will not discourage us, will not discourage our staff from conducting the 2023 general elections and we want to once again assure the people of Abeokuta South, the people of Ogun State and the people of Nigeria that the commission is determined to make the 2023 elections our best ever, we will not be deterred, we cowed by act of arson by undemocratic and retrogressive elements”.
“As soon we get the VIN numbers to be harvested by the State office, we will reprint, it doesn’t take longer than two days to print 65,000 PVCs, but we have to get the Voter Identification Numbers for the cards that were lost so that we can quickly reprint. It doesn’t take longer than two days to reprints those number of PVCs”.
“It is very disappointing, particularly because in that last four months five of our offices were attacked nationwide, but this will never deter us, we will make sure that we replace burnt and destroyed equipment and also reprint the PVCs and conduct elections”.
“My message to stakeholders, political parties, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), security agencies and even people like you in the media is to remain confident that elections will hold inspite of this very temporary setback”, he added.
Also, the Commission boss debunked court order ordering theINEC to continue voters registration till next year.
“The court never made that judgement, in fact, the court said that INEC should proceed with his preparations for the elections, the court never said that INEC should resume the continuous voters’ registration”, he emphasised.
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