Only 1.4 million persons in Ogun State will collect the Permanent Voter Cards between November 7 and 9 this year.
This was made known by the Ogun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission, Mr. Sam Olumekun on Monday at the INEC’s headquarters in Abeokuta while briefing journalists about the activities of the commission.
He also said the commission would commence continuous voter registration between November 12 and 17, saying the exercise would be carried out in all the 236 wards in the state.
According to Olumekun, those who were yet to register, those who had relocated to the state from other locations and those who had attained the age of 18 years since the last registration of voters would benefit from the continuous voters registration.
He said the exercise in the state comes under the last and third phase of the commission’s scheduled plan of distribution across the six geo-political zones of the country.
“During the three-day exercise, we will embark on the issuance of permanent voter cards to all voters who have been properly captured on the biometric register of voters compiled in 2011.
“All registered voters are enjoined to go to their respective polling units with their temporary voter cards and exchange it for the permanent voter cards.
“The distribution of these cards will be done at the 3,210 polling units where people registered in 2011 between 8am and 4pm daily,” he said.
Olumekun said those who had lost their temporary voter cards or the cards were defaced or mutilated, should go to the polling station and complete attestation forms and they would be issued the new PVC.
He lamented that in 2011, the commission had less than 50 registrants at 639 polling units in the state due to incomplete data capture.
Olumekun, however, warned against double registration, which he said, might attract prosecution. He allayed the fears of the people over alleged plan by political parties to hijack the exercise.
Olumekun stressed that whoever failed to collect the PVC would not vote during the 2015 elections.
While he called on all residents to seize this opportunity in order to exercise their civic rights, he said adequate security would be provided for them at each polling units.
