Govt. Raises Alarm Over Non-issuance Of 147, 802 PVCs

THE Bayelsa State Government has raised alarm that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is on the verge of disenfranchising over 147, 000 legitimate voters in the state.

  According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Fyneman Wilson, 147, 802 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), meant for the state are yet to be released by the National Headquarters of INEC, few days to the Presidential polls.

  Describing the situation as a deliberate attempt by the Professor Attahiru Jega led INEC to disenfranchise Bayelsans, as well as stagnate the voting strength of the state, he called on the INEC leadership to without further delay, release all the outstanding PVCs.

  According to him, failure to do so will lead to the disenfranchisement of about one-third of the eligible voters in the state, stressing that, it was unacceptable.

  Wilson explained that, the Continuous Voters Registration was done in May 2014 in the state, followed by the Automatic Finger Print Identification System and the Post Business Rules, which caused a drop in the number of registered voters in the state to 503, 461.