The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the August 15 Osun State governorship election by two days.
The Chairman of the commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced the extension at an expanded stakeholders’ meeting in Osogbo, saying the exercise, which was earlier scheduled to end on Tuesday, will now close on Friday, July 31.
He said the decision followed the low turnout recorded during the exercise, disclosing that only 322,822 newly registered voters, representing about 60 per cent, had collected their PVCs as at the close of collection on Tuesday.
Amupitan said the commission would engage security agencies to deploy patrol vehicles to PVC collection centres to guarantee the safety of officials and voters during the extended exercise.
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He urged all eligible voters yet to collect their PVCs to take advantage of the extension, stressing that only those with valid voter cards would be able to participate in the election.
The INEC chairman also assured residents that the commission was fully prepared to conduct a peaceful, credible and transparent governorship election, insisting that “the ballot box, not the bullet,” would determine the outcome of the poll.
According to him, the commission has completed a comprehensive readiness assessment across the state’s 30 local government areas and put in place the necessary operational, technological and logistical arrangements for the election.
He said 2,339,233 registered voters would be eligible to vote in the election across 30 local government areas, 332 registration areas and 3,763 polling units, while 14 political parties would participate in the contest.
Amupitan disclosed that 4,427 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, including backup units, had been configured and deployed for the election to ensure seamless accreditation of voters.
He said voting would commence at 8:30 a.m. on election day, while Registration Area Centres (RACs) would open on August 14 to facilitate the deployment of personnel, election materials and security operatives.
The INEC chairman announced that the commission would conduct a mock accreditation exercise on August 1 across selected local government areas in the state’s three senatorial districts to test the readiness of the BVAS.
On security, he said INEC had activated its Electoral Risk Management framework in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) and other partners to identify flashpoints and strengthen security deployment in vulnerable areas.
He identified Atakunmosa East and West, Boripe, Ede North and South, Ife Central, Ifedayo, Ila and Ifelodun as local government areas that would receive special security attention.
Amupitan also confirmed attacks on INEC offices in Odo Otin and Ife Centre in the past week, during which batches of uncollected PVCs were stolen.
He, however, assured voters that the stolen cards could not be used because accreditation would only be possible through biometric verification on the BVAS, adding that affected voters would be issued reprinted or downloadable PVCs.
The commission, he said, had also made arrangements to ensure inclusive participation by providing braille ballot guides for visually impaired voters, magnifying glasses for persons with low vision and priority queues for persons with disabilities, pregnant women, nursing mothers and the elderly.
On efforts to curb vote buying, Amupitan said INEC was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to monitor both cash and electronic vote-buying during the election.
He added that a peace accord involving the 14 political parties would be signed on Thursday under the auspices of the National Peace Committee and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Osun State, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, said the commission had completed 11 out of the 13 activities on its timetable for the election.
She said the state’s voter register had increased from 1,954,800 before the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to 2,339,233 after the exercise.
Babalola added that all non-sensitive election materials had been delivered to the 30 local government areas and sorted for distribution, while sensitive materials had arrived in the state and were being kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Osogbo.
She said training of ad hoc staff would take place from July 31 to August 9, while accreditation of journalists covering the election would close on August 2.
The REC also said security agencies had assured the commission of adequate protection before, during and after the election, adding that all security personnel to be deployed would take an oath of loyalty and neutrality in line with the Electoral Act.
Also speaking, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, who represented the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, assured residents that the police would remain neutral and professional throughout the election.
He warned politicians and their supporters against vote buying and other electoral offences, saying anyone found violating the Electoral Act would be arrested and prosecuted regardless of political affiliation or social status.
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