The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to further extend the time lag for the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs.
DAILY POST reports that the INEC had announced that the exercise would commence on Wednesday January 16 and end on January 21.
But in a statement on Thursday morning, the Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, called for an extension to enable those who travelled during the Yuletide the opportunity of taking part in the exercise.
In the statement signed by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, President General, Comrade Obinna Achionye, Deputy National President, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, Secretary General and Odera Udutchay, Deputy National Secretary, they equally called on Ndigbo not to take the exercise for granted.
It read: “The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide met her 36 States Chairmen, with 39 affiliated groups, as well as the Forum of Biafra Agitators, during her 7th General Assembly in Abakiliki, Chaired by the President General Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and resolved as follows:
“OYC General Assembly frowned at the numerous uncollected Igbo PVCs across the Southeast and other parts of the country where igbos resides; these uncollected PVCs are the efforts of mischief makers, who are collaborating with corrupt INEC officials to deny numerous Igbo their Civic Rights to Vote the Candidates of their Choice in the 2019 General election.
“The OYC General Assembly Observed that Prior to 2015 Elections, APC controlled states in Southwest deliberately disenfranchised Igbos by denying them their Civic rights and access to collect their PVCs. Even after the when igbos won few Federal House of Rep seats in Lagos, Governor Ambode began massive demolition of Markets, with Igbos losing millions of goods, which is aimed at destroying the strongholds of Igbo Voters in Lagos state.
“OYC General Assembly had mandated our 31 States Chairmen, which exclude the 5 Core Southeast States to mobilize Igbos alongside with Prominent Igbo groups outside southeast to ensure that between 16th-21st January 2019, every Igbo man or woman who registered in the last exercise that ended August 31st 2018, gets his/her PVCs before the deadline of January 21st 2019.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide asks INEC to extend the deadline for the collection of PVCs till ending of January 2019, to enable those who travelled and registered in their hometowns to go and get it without being intimidated or being under duress, as the rush to get it within these few days might lead to disenfranchisement of many Igbo potential voters.
“We call on Southeast Governors, Christian Association of Nigeria, Muslim Community, Religious Leaders, Southeast Town Unions Presidents, NANS, especially Zone B, Traditional Rulers, Market Unions, Biafra Agitators, to take it as a point of duty, to ensure that all PVCs are collected.”
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