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Godswill Obioma, a professor and Ebonyi Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) says more than 199,000 Permanent Voters Cards are still unclaimed.
Obioma made this known at a news conference in Abakaliki on Thursday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
He said the situation was worrisome, adding that it might affect the expected voter turnout in the general elections in Ebonyi.
He said that the conference was designed to provide a platform for interaction between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and media practitioners in the state.
He further observed that the event would provide the commission the opportunity to inform the public about its preparedness for the forthcoming general elections.
He added that it would further help INEC to explore areas of cooperation and collaboration with regards to sensitisation for PVC collection.
Obioma noted that the commission had intensified efforts toward enhancing PVC collection which is scheduled to end on Feb. 8, in line with the electoral guidelines.
“The total number of PVCs yet to be collected by their owners as at January 29 is 199,583.
“This number is out of the 410,943 delivered by the commission to the state and this figure represents 48.5 per cent of the total PVCs received in Ebonyi.
“This scenario indeed calls for worry. If everybody collects his or her PVC, Ebonyi will witness high voter turnout in the 2019 general elections compared to 2015.
“I wish to inform the public that the PVCs collection will end on February 8 in line with the electoral guideline.”
He, therefore, urged all stakeholders including the media, to step up public sensitisation to ensure that those affected collected their PVCs before the deadline.
