Every registered voter will get PVC – Prof jega

The independent national electoral commission (INEC) has assured all validly registered voter that they will get there own permanent voter card (PVC) to enable all registered voter to vote come 2015.

INEC chairman professor Attahiru Jega on Thursday gave the assurance when he played host at the commission’s head office to special representative of united nations secretary-general for west and central Africa, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

Speaking about what INEC has been doing to meet this tasking challenges: “since the 2011 elections, the commission has devoted a lot of time and energy to keep on improving the processes and setting up policies and mechanisms that can help us have remarkably better elections in 2015.

We’ve done quite a lot Of course, but there are challenges and we have to acknowledge these challenges.

“The last phase of the distribution of PVC’s and updating the register was to cover the remaining 12 states.

I must say with regret that we experienced some challenges in the production of those cards within our defined time schedules, and this has necessitated adjustment of the timeline for distribution of the cards.

Whereas we had wanted to distribute the cards within the same period in all the remaining 12 states, we now have to stagger it in order to ensure that we have all the cards before they are distributed.

“People have been very anxious and many have been disappointed – not just by the change in the timetable for distribution of the cards but also by the logistical challenges and operational delays experienced in the field.

But these are minor challenges as far as we are concerned. We are absolutely sure that before the February elections, every validly registered Nigerian will have his / her PVC to be able to exercise their voting right.

And we are doing everything possible to ensure that happens.”

Also speaking about INEC readiness to conduct free and fair election come 2015, Jega said: “we have reached a comfort level to say categorically that we will deliver credible, free, fair and transparent elections in 2015 that will be much better than what we did in 2011.

Our hope and prayer is that in those areas where there are security challenges, the challenges will be minimized and sufficient normalcy and stability restored for us to be able to conduct elections; so that at the end of it all, we will be satisfied as Nigerians that we’ve conducted the best elections in the history of our country.”