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How INEC planned To Rig Election Through PVC Distribution – PDP

Published

9 years ago

February 12, 2015

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday said it had uncovered plots by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to use the production, distribution and collection of the Permanent Voter Cards, PVC, to rig the general elections in favour of the main opposition party.
The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation said it was wrong for the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to hinge the postponement of the general elections on the security advice by the National Security Adviser on the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Director of the Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, also alleged that the plot to rig the election was hatched in Dubai between Jega and leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He said: “We would like to say that the major issue that informed INEC’s decision was the deliberate attempt by the commission to disenfranchise over 23 million eligible voters who are yet to collect their PVCs.
“The matter is that INEC has failed in its responsibility to produce and distribute PVCs to about 34 per cent of registered voters who would require the cards to vote in the elections.
“This brings us to the issue of statistics of PVC distribution and collection, which we believe Professor Jega, as a person, acting in concert with some forces of retrogression, is playing games with.
“We express our concerns today that Jega may have decided to aid the APC to rig the forthcoming elections through the manipulation of the production, distribution and collection of PVCs such that emerging trends have consistently shown calculated attempts to deprive parts of the country that would traditionally vote for President Goodluck Jonathan of their PVCs whilst the parts of the country that would traditionally vote for the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, are already armed with their PVCs.”
The PVC collection statistics for states and geo-political zones before the postponement of the elections clearly shows that some zones, particularly the war ravaged North-East recording massive compliance of collection while most states in the South and North Central known to be pro-Jonathan record less than 50 per cent.
The PDP, therefore, demands answers from Jega on why are the PVC collection rates in the North Central, South-South, South- West and South-East much lower with the highest being 57 per cent?
“Is it because these geopolitical zones may be pro- Jonathan?
“Why does the North- West zone, which includes Katsina (Buhari’s home state) have the highest collection rate of 80 per cent?
“How come the North- East also has 75 per cent collection rate when, in fact, three states in this zone – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – have been under the attack of Boko Haram insurgents, a development that has led to the displacement of many residents? Did the internally displaced persons come back there to collect their PVCs?