The Permanent Voter’s Cards allegedly discovered in an Anambra state forest are the subject of an investigation, according to the Independent National Election Commission, or INEC.
Festus Okoye, national commissioner for INEC and chairman of the committee for information and voter education, made this claim on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict.
Remember that a recent viral video featured a display of PVC numbers along with the claim that the PVCs were discovered by a hunter in Nnewi North, Anambra State, when he was out hunting.
We are aware that some individuals and groups are working to undermine the legitimacy of this specific election, Okoye remarked. Nevertheless, I watched that video and they were talking about millions of PVCs that were recovered despite the fact that there are only about 250,000 registered voters in that specific local government.
In addition, we have about over 99% of the PVCs in that particular local government already collected. Now, we have told the DSS and the police to receive a report from our resident electoral commissioner and the electoral officer for that specific local government.
“And then those personnel accountable for that specific occurrence must be invited; let them explain to us where and how they discovered those PVCs because we need to conduct an investigation;
And determine whether the PVCs came from the Commission or whether someone else cloned them to undermine the credibility of the Commission’s work and the electoral process, according to Okoye.
With only roughly 200,000 registered voters in the local government, Okoye questioned how PVCs could be found in millions of them.
He questioned the veracity of the claim and invited the person making it to come and give further details regarding where and how they discovered the PVCs.
He advised contacting the Department of Security Services for more explanations on behalf of the individuals who discovered the PVCs and the radio station where they were reportedly displayed.
“So, if the PVSc were found in millions for a local government that registered just around 200,000, then some people have a question to answer. Let those who found the PVCs and the radio station where those PVCs were displayed go to the DSS and police and make a report. If they don’t make that particular report, then they don’t have to answer that question.
Since we haven’t heard of a situation where hunters are now hunting PVCs instead of forest animals, we have also asked that a report be made and that they be invited in to come and explain how they found the PVCs. Hence, invite them to come and describe to us how they went about hunting PVCs in the forest, he said.
