02 Jun 2023 Elections: INEC says 20 million PVCs yet to be claimed
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday said 20 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were said to be lying unclaimed in its vault, raising fears about the success of 2023 elections.
The commission also criticized the poor participation of citizens in the ongoing continuous voters’ registration exercise.
INEC Deputy Director (Voter Education), Mary Nkem, stated these in Abuja during the launch of the PVC Bus Drive project, organised by a non-governmental organisation, the Advocacy for Civic Engagement.
She, therefore, called on Nigerians, especially the youth population to be actively involved in the process of electing new leaders that would effect true change and move the country forward.
According to her, it is votes and not social media that would determine the winners of the 2023 general elections.
Nkem said, “This CVR exercise began on June 30 2021; but we have discovered that between that time and a few weeks ago, the turnout has been relatively low.
“If the youths in this country would come out en masse to cast their votes, we will no longer be recording 15 or 20 per cent voter turnout in our elections, because we know that the population of the youths alone can make a difference.
“The youths no longer visit the social media, they basically live there today. Therefore, when you want to reach out to them, you must go to where you will meet them – social media.
“However, I will like to say that INEC does not conduct an election on social media neither do we count ballots on Twitter or Instagram.
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