Over 7m PVCs remain uncollected, says INEC

… Decries delay in budget passage by NASS ahead 2019 polls

By Zika Bobby

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu  has said over seven million PVCs are yet to be collected across the country.

Speaking at the weekend, in Lagos, at a CSO Strategy Meeting to review post 2015 elections, organised by a group, Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG), Yakubu said the delay in passage of the 2017 budget is one of the challenges facing the commission. He added that the late passage is, also, affecting its plan to acquire materials needed for the 2019 polls.

He said the commission had already placed order for the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), but is yet to take possession  due to the late passage of the appropriation.

Yakubu, who was represented by National Commissioner in Charge of Election and Party Monitoring, Prof. Anthonia Simbine, said beside the delay, conflicting state priorities as well as the harsh foreign exchange market had negatively impacted on the commission’s work.

“Perhaps the greatest challenge faced by any Election Management Body (EMB) is the general attitude of politicians. You will agree that here, there is acute desperation for power, eloquently captured in the dictum of ‘do or die’ politics. It is responsible for most other vices associated with the process, including violence (which often results to inconclusive elections) hate speeches, bribery and all forms of malpractices),” Yakubu said.

He urged: “Unless and until there is attitudinal change and rejection of this mindset, our process is likely to be bedeviled by such negative and subversive tendencies.”

Acting Executive Secretary of ISDMG, Faith Nwadishi, said the body took special interest in INEC based on the successes recorded in 2015 election and the need to look ahead of 2019 to know what the challenges were and how the group could collaborate with the commission.

“This meeting we are having today is the third in the series. Two years before the elections, INEC had announced dates of elections and we see that politicians are beginning to gather to restrategise, so we have to be proactive to look at what are the lessons we have learnt from the 2015 elections and what is it that we need to do,” she said.

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