The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has appealed to religious leaders to encourage their members and followers to participate actively in the electoral process.
Speaking during an interactive session with religious leaders towards successful 2019 General Elections in Awka ,the National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee INEC Headquarters Abuja, Barrister Festus Okoye urged them to help mobilize their members to collect their Permanent Voters Card within various window periods provided by the Commission before the end of the exercise on February eight as it would amount to efforts in futility if those registered failed to collect their Permanent Voters Card, adding that the distribution of the cards has been decentralized to ward level for six days.
Barrister Okoye explained that over eighty-four million registered voters are expected to participate in the coming elections across the country out of which eighty per cent are people between eighteen and fifty years.
He explained that according to the new electoral guidelines, it is mandatory to use the Smart Card Reader for accreditation and violation would attract serious sanctions while it is criminal for anybody to use another person’s PVC.
Barrister Okoye urged the religious leaders not to relent in preaching message of peace and unity to the people.
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji said voting would take place in five thousand, seven hundred and twenty polling units and voting points across the State, while the
Commission would need about twenty four thousand ad-hoc personnel to conduct the elections.
Dr Orji assured that they are replacing and upgrading their equipment and facilities as well as sustaining high tempo of voter education to encourage mass participation of people in the elections.
In their separate reactions, the State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Reverend Dr John Ndubisi and the State Chairman of Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sanni
Ejoor restated their commitments to promoting the course of peaceful, free, fair and credible elections.
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