The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has debunked the claim by Hope Uzodimma, the Imo State Governor, that the commission has resumed the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in places where the exercise was earlier suspended in the state.
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, who gave the clarification in a statement, yesterday, said the position of the commission had not changed.
The commission had suspended the CVR exercise in all the 54 additional centres created to facilitate the registration of voters across the state following the attack on its staff in Ihitte Uboma Local Council, and reports of insecurity in other parts of the state.
Following the suspension, Uzodimma had, on Sunday, claimed, during a church service at the Government House Chapel, Owerri, that INEC had agreed to lift the suspension, adding that the CVR would commence on Monday, April 25, 2022.
The governor was quoted as saying that his intervention became necessary to allow Imo citizens to register and obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before the next general election.
Uzodimma said: “By Monday, April 25, 2022, the CVR will resume in all the designated centres while the three local councils under ban will carry out the registration at their local government headquarters.
Read Also: 2023: INEC Budgets N239bn For Poll Materials, Presidential Run-Off
“Those who are deliberately scaring the people away from registering are enemies of the state who want to draw the state back knowing full well that INEC’s registration and the population census are yardsticks for Federal Revenue Allocation to states and local governments.
Debunking the claim, Okoye insisted that the exercise is still confined to the commission’s state and local council offices except in Orsu, Njaba and Ihitte Uboma Local Councils where it is suspended indefinitely.
He appealed to the public to discountenance the purported resumption of the CVR in the three local councils.MEANWHILE, INEC, in Imo State, has commenced the issuance of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the 27 Local councils of the state.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Prof. Francis Chukwuemeka Ezeonu, disclosed this in a statement he issued yesterday.
According to Ezeonu, those to be issued the cards are those who applied between June and December 2021.
The statement said: “INEC wish to inform the general public that the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) for all newly registered voters who have validated their status or applied for transfer of voting stations between June and December 2021 are ready for collection. All such persons are advised to go to the Local Council polling unit of their choice to collect their PVCs.”
Source: Guardian