450,560 may not vote in Osun 960,124 get permanent voters cards

Seven days to the conduct of the August 9, 2014 governorship poll in Osun, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, on Friday in Osogbo, said the commission had distributed 960, 124 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) to eligible voters, while 450,560 voters might not vote in that election unless they collect their own PVCs latest on Monday. He maintained that “out of 1, 410, 684 PVCs received in the state as of 31st July, 2014, a total of 960, 124 PVCs have been distributed, representing 68.06 per cent of the total PVCs received,” stressing that “450, 560 PVCs have not been collected by their owners.” Addressing the media as part of the preparations for the election, Agbaje affirmed that “the collection of PVCs will continue in the various local government area offices of the commission until 4th August, 2014.” While disclosing that 3, 379 voting points had been created to accelerate the process of accreditation and voting, the REC asserted that “10, 432 adhoc staff have been engaged to work in different categories during the election.” According to him, “concrete arrangements have been intensified in terms of security for the peaceful conduct of the election by the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). “There will be three security agents at each polling Unit (PU) on election day as approved by the commission to maintain law and order and the security at all identified flashpoints across 30 local government areas will be beefed up through coordinated patrols.” “Let me use this opportunity once again to reassure the people of Osun State and other Nigerians and the international community that INEC is more than ever before determined to conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable election that will meet the aspirations of all and sundry,” Agbaje remarked. He described as unfounded and baseless allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the INEC was requesting the identities of political parties from voters before issuing PVCs to them and that the commission was conniving with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the poll through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, who will serve as adhoc staff. “I make bold to say that the above allegations are not true. They are the figment of the imagination of those that made them as they have not been able to substantiate them as I speak to you,” Agbaje stated.