Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

The Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC in Ogun State has given details of the ‘alien’ Permanent Voter Cards that were said to have been brought to the State.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun had last week accused the Commission of bringing over 600,000 PVCs whose owners could not be traced to any part of the State. The governor accused the Commission of trying to disenfranchise many residents of the State.

INEC admin secretary, Atiba calms protesters in Abeokuta today

Addressing members of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights,CDHR,Ogun State chapter who had staged a peaceful protest to the INEC office in Abeokuta Monday morning,the Administrative Secretary of the Commission, Mr Dickson Atiba explained that those cards were for those living in the State before but have now relocated due to one reason or another.

Members of CDHR protest in Abeokuta

“There are no alien cards in Ogun State. Those cards that the governor are referring to as alien cards are those that are meant for the State. Ogun State has the largest number of institutions and some students who were here before and have completed their studies and some security personnel’s who have been transferred out of the State have their cards lying fallow with us here. Who will collect them on their behalf?.

“As at the time the governor was here last week,the number was something around 600,000 plus but as we are speaking now,the number has reduced to 573,236. These numbers are those that are yet to be collected and we are not sleeping over it. We even received about 21 cards meant for Edo State and we have since returned them.

“I have instructed all the Electoral Officers across the State to forward the names of those that have not come to pick their cards and we will compile them and paste them at every local government areas,that will as well hasten people to just get their,check their names and once it is there,their cards will be given to them without much stress,”Atiba narrated.

He however promised that all the remaining voter cards meant for the people in the State will be delivered en-bloc before the end of this month.

Atiba revealed that Ogun State has the total voters number of 1,795794, and the Commission had so far received 1,368,875 voter cards with 795,962 distributed which amounting to 56.7% but if to be bases on the total voters number,the percentage will be about 44%.

The CHDR members early this morning marched from Kuto Roundabout to the office of the INEC protesting the lackadaisical attitude of the Commission towards the distribution of PVCs in the State.

The human right group marched with placards with various inscriptions like;”INEC,Give us our PVCs or face the wrath”,”Jega release Ogun PVCs”,”Don’t destroy democracy,release our PVCs”,”On March 28,April 11,we stand”,”Jega ,don’t deny us our voting right”,among others.

Speaking earlier,the CDHR Chairman in the State, Yinka Folarin declared that they have no confidence in the Prof. Attahiru Jega led INEC to conduct free,fair and credible election in the country.

“We have come to INEC office to exercise and agitate for our right. We have come to ask INEC what is the sin of our people that they don’t release our PVCs and to express our displeasure over the satanic agenda of Jega to disenfranchise the good people of Ogun State.

Ogun CDHR called for the extension of the closing date for the collection of PVCs across the country from March 8 to March 19,2015 and also urged the Commission to move the distribution of the cards through the polling units and not wards across the 20 local government areas of the State.