The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has seek the support of the Media organizations in the Country by educating members of the public against the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration in Edo and Ondo States respectively.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the call in Abuja during the second quarterly consultative meeting with the Media Executives saying, their support will help in educating the masses in order to come out to registered and those for collection to go for their voters cards collections.
He said, it is an opportunity for those who wants to get registered and are ready to vote in the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorship election in September and November, 2024 respectively.
According to him, “The Commission is appealing to the media to join us in mobilising prospective registrants for the exercise, particularly on the need to register early and not wait until the deadline approaches when the registration centres will be inundated by eleventh hour registrants.
“In addition, the Commission will also make available the uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for collection during the CVR. In the coming days, the list of uncollected PVCs will be published in our offices in the two States and simultaneously uploaded to our website. We believe that doing so will make it easier for voters to know the availability of the cards and identify the locations to collect them”, Yakubu revealed.
Professor Yakubu however, warned that, no PVCs will be collected by proxy; and that registered voters should come in person to collect their cards. “Again, we seek for the support of the media in encouraging voters to locate and pick up their PVCs as was done in the past”.
He equally warned media organizations to submit their applications for accreditation to report on the election in earnest along with the required documentation for individual journalists and support staff saying, Doing so will enable the Commission to produce and deliver the identity cards for journalists covering the election in good time.
INEC Boss added that the Commission will not entertain any requests outside the deadline for the receipt of applications from interested media organisations or process requests that do not meet the criteria for accreditation.
As we move closer to Election Day in Edo State, it is also imperative to request media organisations to submit applications for accreditation to report on the election in earnest along with the required documentation for individual journalists and support staff.
Doing so will enable the Commission to produce and deliver the identity cards for journalists covering the election in good time. The Commission will not entertain requests outside the deadline for the receipt of applications from interested media organisations or process requests that do not meet the criteria for accreditation.
In his remarks, the President of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Mr Chris Isiguzo, represented by the NUJ National Secretary, Mr Achike Chude commended INEC for making available regular updates to stakeholders in its activities and urged the Commission to ensure adequate preparation head of the election.