The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has met with traditional rulers in Yobe State on the need to sensitise their subjects to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) from Monday.
The meeting which was attended by Governor Mai Mala Buni, INEC officials, traditional rulers, security chiefs, among other stakeholders in the state took place at the SSG’s Conference Hall, Governor’s Office, Damaturu.
Represented by the Secretary to Yobe State Government, Baba Mallam Wali, Buni said the meeting was to hear from the royal fathers in the state.
Yobe State INEC resident electoral commissioner, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi, said it was the tradition of the commission to interface with traditional and religious leaders preparatory to every general elections.
Represented by INEC’s administrative secretary, Abacha Bukar Abdullahi, stated that the initiative was due to the critical roles the institution play in the lives of the people.
“The commission converted a number of voting points into stand alone polling units. Here in Yobe, previously the total number of polling units was 1,714 and 1,109 voting points have been converted. As it is now, Yobe State is going into the upcoming elections with 2,823 polling units cutting across the 17 local government areas of the state.
“It is important to note that we may not rule out the possibility of having polling units with zero registration. However, the commission will come up with modalities on how to make those units functional,” he said.
He appealed to the royal fathers to stand in the gap and act in the area of sensitizing the people on the need to collect their PVCs.The REC said the commission had scheduled the collection of PVCs to start from December 12 at the LGA office and end on January 22, 2023
