INEC To Distribute 988,000 Permanent Voters’ Cards In Gombe State

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to distribute 988,000 permanent voter’s cards in Gombe State. The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Prof. Istifanus Dafwan, disclosed this in Gombe on Thursday while briefing newsmen on the preparedness of the commission for the exercise. Dafwan said 1.3 million people registered during the 2011 registration. But after the data was consolidated through the automated finger registration system at the INEC headquarters, Abuja, he said, over 300 persons were found to have engaged in double or multiple registration. According to him, the names of those found to have engaged in the registration fraud were deleted. “Hence the number of the permanent voter’s cards that were brought to the state were less than the 1.3 million voters that registered,” he said. The commissioner called on the registered voters to go to the 2, 218 polling units, present their temporary voter’s cards and collect their permanent cards from Friday to Sunday. According to him, those unable to collect their cards within the stipulated period, should go to INEC offices in their respective local government areas later to collect. Dafwan said that 2,218 distribution officers would be deployed to man the centres where the permanent voter’s cards would be distributed. He said additional 200 persons had been trained to be on standby in case of any eventuality. (NAN)