By Veronica Dariya —
Some residents of Dutse, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have expressed frustration in the collection of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at the distribution centres in the area.
The residents, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make the exercise seamless.
Some of the residents, however, commended INEC for the conduct of the exercise, while others condemned the Commission’s officials for poor handling.
Mrs Agnes Adetona who narrated her ordeal, said that for two days she was unable to collect her PVC.
Another resident, Mr Ifeanyi Amos, noted that INEC officials were overwhelmed as a result of the large turnout, noting that the collection process was also slow.
According to him, people left their businesses and jobs to collect the cards, which should not take time, but end up waiting for hours and possibly, the whole day..
Another resident, Mr Amos Ugochukwu, however, commended the officials for their ability to handle the situation in a civil manner.
According to Ugochukwu, although the hands of the officials were full considering the number of people they attend to, they were still able to listen to complaints, which also slowed the process.
“A lot of people are coming so late to collect their PVCs that have been ready for quite a while, which I think is in the nature of Nigerians generally, to leave things till the last minute.
Mrs Idowu Olayemi, INEC Electoral Officer in Bwari who spoke to NAN on the issue in a telephone interview, said that the office was tackling the situation.
“I have not received any complaints of misrepresentation of information on any card, but got complaints of upsurge at the Dutse centre.
“This large turnout by electorate in the centre and other distribution centres in the council, is a sign of readiness for the general elections, this is commendable,’’ she said.
She assured that all the issues would be addressed to ensure easy collection before the deadline, so as not to disenfranchise anyone. (NAN)
