The House of Representatives has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently commence the release of permanent voter cards (PVCs) not distributed before the last general elections to their owners.
The House while also urging the electoral umpire to embark on continuous registration of voters, further said the Electoral Act, 2010 empowers INEC to make voter cards available to registered voters well ahead of voting days, while expressing concern over the manner the commission handled the distribution of voter cards during the 2015 general elections.
Leading debate on a motion on the matter, the sponsor, Hon. Shadimu Alao, informed the parliament that during the 2015 general elections, the manner in which INEC carried out the distribution of the cards disenfranchised millions of Nigerians across the country.
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“The uneven distribution of voter cards may, in some cases, produce unpopular candidates resulting in triumph of the minority over the majority, which is antithetical to all known democratic tenets,” he said.
He called on the House to prevail on the federal government to ensure provision of funds for INEC to cope with its enormous responsibilities as and when due.
The Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, therefore, mandated the Committees on Electoral and Political Party Matters, Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance with the resolution.
Meanwhile, the House has also passed for second reading, a Bill for an Act to establish the Electoral Offences Tribunal for the purpose of trying electoral Offences; and a Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Electoral Offences Commission charged with the responsibility of Prohibition and Prosecution of electoral Offences; and other related matters, sponsored by John Dyegh and Francis Charles Uduyok, respectively.
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