Osun 2022: 1.4m Out Of 1.9m Registered Voters Have Collected Their PVCs – INEC Chairman

– As INEC To Deploy PwDs As Ad Hoc Staff

No fewer than 1,479,595 of the total 1,955,657 registered voters in Osun State have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards preparatory to Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders held at the Atlantis Civic Centre, Osogbo, on Tuesday.

According to Yakubu, this was achieved through the devolution of the continuous voter registration exercise from its 30 offices in Osun to the 332 wards across the state, as well as the devolution of PVC collection to the wards.

“I appeal to all registered voters that are yet to collect their PVCs to seize the opportunity of the additional measures to do so. Many of the PVCs have already been collected by citizens. Of the 1,955,657 registered voters in Osun State, 1,479,595 (or 76%) have collected their cards as at Sunday 10th July 2022. We are also updating our records to provide a detailed breakdown of PVCs collected by polling units. This will be concluded and made available on Friday 15th July 2022. This is important because the total number of PVCs collected will be used to determine the margin of lead principle, as against the total number of registered voters in line with our Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022 derived from the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022,” he said.

The commission also extended the deadline for collection of PVCs to Thursday to allow voters who are yet to get their PVCs to do so 24 hours to the election.

As a way of boosting inclusivity and transparency in the Osun election, Yakubu said INEC will for the first time deploy Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) as ad hoc staff while also providing assistive devices to encourage the participation of PWDs in the poll.

“To underscore our commitment to an inclusive, credible and transparent electoral process, the Commission is deploying assistive devices for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to have a more pleasant voting experience on Election Day. Magnifying glasses, Braille Ballot Guide and Posters for voters with hard of hearing conditions will be deployed at polling unit level in areas of need based on data collected in collaboration with the PwD community. Similarly, our revised Regulations and Guidelines provide for priority to be accorded at polling units to PwDs without waiting in long queues during voting as is the case with elderly people, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

“Beyond these measures, we also want to make PwDs to get more involved in election administration like everyone else. In this regard, the 2022 Osun State Governorship election will also make history, being the first election in which INEC is deploying PwDs as ad hoc staff. Thirty-five (35) serving NYSC members with one form of disability or another have been identified, trained and engaged as ad hoc staff at polling unit level. I appeal to all stakeholders to cooperate with, and protect them, as well as all other ad hoc staff, in our effort to make our electoral process more inclusive and participatory,” he said.

The electoral body reassured the people of Osun that the election will be peaceful and fair as it “will not take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate.”

The election will be held across 3,763 polling units while collation will take place in 332 ward collation centres, 30 Local Government Area collation centres and the State Collation Centre where the final declaration of result will be made.

The commission revealed that 87 Observer groups (79 domestic and 8 international) will deploy a total of 7,790 accredited field observers,while 94 media organisations (92 national and 2 international) will deploy 624 accredited journalists to cover the election.

Yakubu added, “I cannot conclude my remarks without addressing a matter of serious concern to our elections. Here, I am referring to sundry violations of our electoral law, including the diabolical practice of vote buying in which voters are financially induced to vote one way or another. It is obvious that the more the Commission and other stakeholders work hard to progressively improve the quality of national elections in Nigeria, the more some retrogressive elements try to undermine the process. While we will continue to work with the security and anti-corruption agencies to confront this challenge, our effort will be given a boost by the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal as recommended by the Uwais Committee in 2009, reinforced by the Lemu Committee in 2011 and the Nnamani Committee in 2017. Happily, the Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal Bill is under consideration of the National Assembly. INEC supports this initiative and appeals to the National Assembly for a speedy conclusion and passage of the Bill into law.”

The meeting had in attendance the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, the Osun Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Abdulganiy Raji, the INEC supervising National Commissioner, Professor Kunle Ajayi, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, amongst others.