134,000 PVCs still unclaimed in Anambra – INEC

No fewer than 134,000 registered voters are yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Anambra, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, told the our reporter on Thursday in Awka that registrants yet to collect their PVCs were mostly those who registered between 2011 and 2017.

Orji, however, said the commission had improved its strategy for registering voters and distribution of PVCs in the state and urged those yet to collect theirs to do so.

He said part of the strategies was to paste photocopied unclaimed PVCs in the various INEC offices which would in turn hand over the original PVCs to community leaders for onward distribution to their owners.

Orji disclosed that INEC registered 1.7 million voters in 2015 while the number of registered voters was 2.1 million in 2017.

He expressed confidence that the commission would register up to 2.5million voters by the end of the ongoing exercise on Aug. 31.

Orji urged eligible voters in the state, especially those who were not previously captured and those who recently turned 18, to avail themselves of the opportunity to register to be able to exercise their franchise.