PVC registration exercise worries SE IPAC, pleads with Ndigbo

Non-participation in the on-going continuous voter registration exercise organize by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is giving South East Caucus of Inter Party Advisory Council, IPAC sleepless night.

It has therefore urged Ndigbo to participate very actively in the exercise and get their permanent voters’ card, PVC as it is the only thing that would equip them to get leaders of their choice.

Led by its chairman, the Chairman of the Caucus, reminded Ndigbo that registering in their good numbers would change the erroneous notion in some quarters that Ndigbo are minority population, a notion he blamed on their previous lukewarm attitude in participating in the nation’s electoral process.

Prince Emeka Okafor said that if Ndigbo actively get involved and register and obtain their PVC, Nigerians would realize that they have the largest population in the country.

Okafor, who spoke to journalists in Umuahia, appealed to churches, traditional rulers, stakeholders at all levels to encourage and mobilize their people to go and register and get their PVC, which he described as “an enormous power make positive changes in the political sphere by choosing the right persons they want to lead them”.

He also called on INEC to ensure that enough functioning capturing machines were deployed to the designated registration centres to enable the people to get registered, and condemned a situation where people queue for hours only to be frustrated by malfunctioning machines.

Stressing the importance of being registered, Okafor who is also the Abia State Chairman of IPAC, said that the PVC would enable the people to change non-performing leaders instead of just folding their hands to complain without any action.

“Election is about number; whether we think that INEC will rig elections or not, we must first get registered and participate actively by coming out en-masse to vote during elections. Specific number of voters are allocated to a particular polling unit and if we don’t have PVC to vote, that would give whoever wants to rig the opportunity to stuff the box to make up the number of votes in the units.

“Ndigbo have been shortchanged for long because of their apathy to involve in electoral activities and other parts of the country erroneously believe we are in the minority. But if we change this attitude and participate actively, get registered, get our PVC and go out to vote during elections, they will see our real number.

“Secondly, we can reduce rigging if we have our PVC. Rigging is enhanced when people don’t come out to vote thereby giving riggers opportunity to manipulate the figures to make up for the figures allocated for each polling units. We need to change our attitude towards elections and take it as a serious business, something that gives us power to change bad leaders and replace them.

“I appeal to churches, our clergy men, traditional rulers, community leaders and stakeholders in various communities and the South East Governors to encourage and mobilize their people to go and register and get their PVC”, Okafor said.