Senate seeks extension of permanent voter card distribution

The Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution asking the Independent National Electoral Commission to extend the distribution of permanent voter card in some states, by two weeks. The upper chamber took the decision after the lawmakers had contributed extensively to a motion by Senator Ita Enang and supported by 107 other senators. Enang, whose motion was presented by Senator Abdul Ningi, explained that INEC conducted the distribution of the permanent card in some states between the May 23 and 25, 2014 but lamented that the process was faced with series of problems. Some of the problems identified in the motion included corruption of the central processing system by virus which resulted in the exclusion of the names of some voters from the published voters list and the non production of the cards for them. The motion observed that the time given for the distribution of the cards was too short and that the publicity given by INEC for the distribution was not sufficient. It observed that most of the voters did not live within the areas where they registered for the voters card and were not able to collect them within the limited time. He said those that were not distributed within the period had been returned to local government headquarters. It added that about 200, 000 registered voters in Akwa Ibom and 600, 000 in Benue states respectively did not find their cards. The motion stated, “In Enugu state the voters have threatened to drag INEC to court over the disappearance of 621 polling units in the state from the voters list out of the 2, 945 polling units in the state. “Such a disenfranchisement could lead to a serious voters apathy which may render the 2015 general elections unacceptable, not credible and undemocratic. “If the voters are not issued with their permanent voter cards, they would not be allowed to vote and would amount to disenfranchisement of the voters.” Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Andy Uba, who said the exercise was widely publicised, noted that the it was a continuous one, adding that everybody would still find his or her name. Mark said the complaints were germane and that the card had been produced but it was of poor quality. “The publicity is not enough. There should be massive publicity because the next election will be very serious,” he said.