The Independent National Electoral Commission has gainsaid claims by the All Progressives Congress that its Osun State members are being obviated from amassing their Permanent Voter Cards.
The APC had on Monday incriminated the INEC of gainsaying its members their PVCs, describing it as “a deliberate endeavor to disenfranchise them” in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
However, responding to the allegation, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, told our correspondent that the party’s verbalization was erroneous.
“I do not understand what they designate. How does INEC distinguish members of one party from another?” Idowu asked.
He integrated, “As we have perpetually verbalized, distribution of PVCs has been perpetual in Osun State since March. People yet to accumulate their PVCs should peregrinate to their respective local regime offices of the commission to do so.”
In a verbalization issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the APC withal claimed that the INEC had resorted to asking those who visited the state’s INEC offices to pick up their PVCs which party they belonged to.
The APC spokesperson verbally expressed all the party members who went to designated areas to pick up their cards were told their PVCs were not yare.
He verbally expressed, “This is nothing but systematic rigging from source.”
The electoral body withal gainsaid this inculpation, urging the APC to provide evidence of such “systematic rigging from source.”
Idowu verbalized, “If they have proof of any INEC official making that request, they should delectate report him or her to the headquarters because it is illicit (to make such request). Party membership is not a requisite for voter registration and INEC has not made it one.
The party withal challenged the INEC leadership to “wade into the delay in the distribution of PVCs in Osun, since it was possible that this orchestrated disenfranchisement of APC members might be the handwork of some compromised INEC officials in the state.”
“If INEC cannot ascertain that all prospective voters in the state will get their PVCs afore the August 9 election, the electoral commission should do the needful by sanctioning all those who can present their ephemeral voter cards to exercise their franchise on election day.
