Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Delta State, Rev. Monday Udoh Tom on Tuesday revealed that no fewer than 300, 000 Personal Voters Cards (PVC) have remained unclaimed across the 25 local government areas of the state.

Speaking during the inauguration of Executive of Delta State Inec Press Corp (IPC) at the INEC state Secretariat in Asaba, Rev. Monday bemoaned the development, stating that the Commission is determined to do better in the 2023 elections in regard to the numbers of those who collected their PVCs and those who will vote, by ensuring
aggressive mobilization of PVC collection and voting, hence the PVC Collection sensitization programme.

Onyemaeze explained that the seizures were made on Saturday, Sept. 24 and on Tuesday, Oct. 11 respectively during routine patrol operations by base operatives of the waterways.

“This is in line with the mandate of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, to curtail illegal activities and criminal activities in the waterways,” Onyemaeze said.

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He mentioned that there are over 244,715 uncollected PVCs from the 2019 general elections as he further disclosed that the commission has so far received about 69,946 PVCs, for those who registered between June
–December 2021 and 17,000 transfer PVCs, bringing the stock of PVCs held by the Commission, at the moment, to well over 300,000 cards lying in the offices of the commission across the 25 LGA in the state.

He explained that additional PVCs for those who registered between January –July 2022, which will increase the stock of PVCs held by the Commission.

” The Commission expects that, by the end of November, we will receive more PVCs, hence our desire to embark on the aggressive mobilization of registrants to collect their PVCs, through the PVC Collection/
Political Campaigns Sensitization, which has so far taken us to the State House of Assembly.

Please permit me to recall, that in 2019, the number of registered voters in Delta State stood at 2, 831, 206, while 2, 470, 924 PVCs were collected, leaving over 244,000 uncollected and only 1, 188, 784 voted in both national and state elections, leaving out about 1.6 million, who did not show up on election day to exercise their franchise” he stated.