Bayo Oyewale, Lokoja
The New Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kogi state, Professor James Lorliam Apam has disclosed that a total of 282,747 Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) are yet to be collected in Kogi State despite the persistent call by the commission.
Professor Apam who disclosed this while speaking during the Stakeholders meeting at the Lokoja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated that the commission will continue to improve on the electoral process in the country.
He explained that as the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise progresses, the commission has registered a total of 61,075 eligible voters out of which 21,488 are male and 29,607 are female since the commencement of exercise since April 2017.
According to him, INEC in Kogi State has attended to 2,198 cases of transfer of PVCs, while the commission has distributed a total of 8,176 cards during the period under review.
The commissioner noted that politicians and political parties are critical stakeholders in the electoral process adding that INEC needs the cooperation of all for a violence free electoral exercise in the country.
He tasked the leaders of the political parties in the State to sensitize their party loyalists on the need to avoid electoral crisis that always associated with election period.
The INEC boss also noted that the people of like minds with genuine intentions to move the country forward should come together under a political umbrella instead of multiplicity of political parties as is the case may in Nigeria presently.
Meanwhile, the absence of the Ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) during the meeting caused uproar and almost degenerated to shouting match.
The Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Bode Ogunmola had raised the issue, asking whether the APC were not invited to the meeting.
The question however caused a lot of murmuring and noise before the timely intervention by the commission the invitations were sent to all the political parties in Kogi.
