Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has called on people of the State to take the forthcoming collection of permanent voters’ card exercise serious with a charge on top government officials and party leaders to be in the vanguard of the sensitisation campaign.
This is comming on the heels of a stern warning issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Asaba over double registration, insisting that it is an electoral offence if any voter, who had changed his/her residential address after the 2011 exercise applied for fresh registration.
Governor Uduaghan has already commended sensitisation meeting with relevant stakeholders on senatorial district basis to ensure that voters collect their permanent cards when the distribution exercise kicks off on August 15.
In a meeting with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Stakeholders from Delta Central in Warri on Monday, August 5, 2014, Governor Uduaghan stressed that the collection of permanent voters’ card was as important as the registration exercise.
“The collection of permanent voters’ card is a very serious exercise because your wining any election whether local government, state or federal depends on your voters card. So it is for us to mobilise our people, our community people, our families, our party members to go and collect their permanent voters card.
“I expect that the party at the senatorial level will also meet with the local chairman, council chairmen and map out strategies on how to ensure that people go and collect their voters card,” he said.
Dr. Uduaghan who explained that the meeting was also to rob minds on the forthcoming local government election in the state, commended the peaceful approach that the various aspirants and their supporters have adopted so far and urged them to continue to maintain the peace.
The Governor expressed the hope that the series of party activities being undertaken would produce credible candidates that would not only fly the PDP’s flag in the forthcoming polls but win both as chairmen and councillors.
He told the party leaders, aspirants and stakeholders that it was possible to have a consensus candidate where that was the opinion of the majority.
Dr. Uduaghan who observed that PDP was the only party currently mobilising for the forthcoming local government polls in the state reiterated that his party was working hard to ” win and we shall win freely and squarely.”
This his position, he explained was against the background of his being the leader of PDP in the state, adding “I do not owe any apology for saying PDP will win all the seats in the forthcoming election.”
He told the aspirants, “I want to advise that if you don’t get it (the ticket) there is no need trying to defect to another party because there is no other party that can carry you the way PDP is carrying you.”
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday, August 5, 2014 warned that change of residence of voters who partook in the 2011 voter registration would not guarantee fresh registration in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The commission emphasised that it would amount to double registration and an electoral offence if any voter, who had changed his/her residential address after the 2011 exercise applied for fresh registration.
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Delta State, Dame Gesila Khan made this known at an enlarged stakeholders’ forum on the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and the Continuous Voter Registration across the state.
The REC noted that the electoral body was aware that a lot of voters had changed residences from one state to another after the 2011 registration exercise, adding that what such voters needed to do was to apply for transfer of their voter cards.
According to her, although the commission had already taken delivery of the PVCs meant for voters in the state, the PVCs for the entire voters in Ika South Local Government Area, RA2 in Warri South-West Local Government Area and RA1 in Aniocha North Local Government Area were still being awaited. She said INEC headquarters had been informed about the omitted areas.
