2019 elections: Gani Adams laments inability to collect PVC, tells INEC, don’t disenfranchise me

Patrick Okohue, Lagos

Less than 10 days to the general elections, Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Abiodun Adams, has raised an alarm, warning the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), not to disenfranchise him, and members of his family from exercising their civic rights. Speaking against the backdrop of the delay he encountered in collecting his Permanent Voters Card (PVC), Adams, in a statement on Wednesday, by his special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, said he is yet to receive his PVC, several months after registration, saying the delay is suspicious. “I think it is suspicious, and I feel bad that as I am speaking to you now, I am yet to receive my PVC, including my wife and that of the rest of my family. “This is not good for us as Nigerians. It portends grave danger to our democracy and the nation in general, remember, the whole world is watching, especially, at a time when elections are a few days away. I am saying this, not because I have any preferred candidate in the coming elections, but because it is my right and that of other Nigerians to vote and be voted for, and I know many Nigerians would have been disenfranchised as a result of INEC’s failure to make the PVCs available to the electorate.” Adams, however, urged the electoral umpire to improve on the modalities for the collection of PVC, saying anything short of a free, fair, and credible election will be dangerous to Nigeria’s democracy. “I am saying this for posterity, and I stand to be corrected that up till today, Nigerians still remember Professor Humphrey Nwosu’s name for the June12 annulled election, which was adjudged to be the fairest and freest election in the history of our great nation. “In 2015, I challenged Professor Attahiru Jega, over the non availability of PVCs in the South West, as well as the indiscriminate distribution of PVCs to Nigerians, particularly in the North. “Today, less than ten days to the general elections, I am yet to receive my PVC, including that of my wife and all my households that registered and are qualified and eligible to vote. I did my registration and enrollment in September, resulting from my relocation from my former residence in Abule Ado, Amuwo Odofin Local Government, to my present home in Omole Phase 11, Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area of the state and up till now, I have not received my voters’ card, others that had the same issues with me have received theirs. This is uncalled for and I think it is a calculated plot to disenfranchise me,” he said.