Political parties in Nigeria have kicked against the plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to destroy uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Chronicle NG reports that INEC is contemplating a policy to withdraw and destroy Permanent Voter Cards that remain uncollected for a decade.
This recommendation was among 208 proposals arising from the commission’s review of the 2023 general elections.
The decision resulted from the recurrent issue of unclaimed PVCs, with over six million cards still uncollected as of the 2023 elections, including many issued as long back as 2015.
Stakeholders in the post-election assessment recommended that INEC resolve the backlog of uncollected PVCs by instituting a policy to withdraw PVCs that stay uncollected for extended periods, starting with cards issued in 2015.
The rationale is that these cards are unlikely to be used, and their retention clogs the voter management system.
Reacting to the plans to destroy the PVCs, the National Legal Adviser of the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, believed that the initiative was in order, stressing that there was a need to declutter the voters register, especially if it is confirmed that many of those registered have died.
He said, “I am sure most of those uncollected PVCs must have been as a result of irregularities in the process of registration and all that. If truly people register to vote and register as eligible electorate, they must have collected over a long period, after being given enough time.
“But I believe no system is perfect. So I think destroying them may be in order. If people have not collected over a long period, there is a likelihood those lapses were the result of some irregularities in the process of registration.”
However, the Peoples Democratic Party expressed worry that destroying uncollected PVCs could be another strategy by INEC to distract Nigerians.
Timothy Osadolor, PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, mentioned that INEC had given Nigerians enough grounds to be suspicious.
He claimed that individuals refused to acquire PVCs because they had lost faith in INEC’s ability to count their votes during elections.
Osadolor said, “How do you contemplate destroying cards produced with billions of taxpayers’ money because INEC has failed the credibility and integrity test that has made millions of Nigerians lose faith in the commission’s ability to organise free, fair, and credible elections?
“I urge INEC to, as a matter of immediate action, begin an image laundering and rebranding campaign to convince Nigerians and stakeholders that the commission is ready to be truly independent in spelling, actions, and character.”
In the same vein, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) advised INEC to reconsider the plan to destroy PVCs.
Ladipo Johnson, the National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, said destroying over six million voter cards would amount to sheer waste of money.
He said, “If people register and haven’t come to collect over a long period of time unless they know those people have passed on, I think the cards should not be destroyed as long as they are in safekeeping.
“If you destroy about six million PVCs, and all of a sudden, some of the owners show up and want to vote, it will cost God-knows-how-much to register them again. It’s a waste of money.”
