NB: The essence of this article is not to create unrest but to mildly correct what I consider as errors the electoral body are already committing towards the next elections.

I had been away from Lagos since September and I was almost tempted to leave Osun State, having graduated in July and bored at home. I broke away to experience the lonesome, bachelor life I had lived since my second year at OAU.

The PVC was too pronounced that I felt staying back in Osun could disenfranchise me in the forth-coming elections. I however kept my cool, stayed behind and left at my proposed time but I somewhat came late as the collection of the PVC in my area had been moved to only God knows where, leaving me to search and ask around like I had just come to Lagos.

My fears were raised in Osun as some of my friends who registered in the 2011 elections were denied the PVC. They claimed they had misplaced it, and the representatives of INEC seemed to have a single rule; you won’t get the PVC if you don’t have your TVC. Those who were on OAU Campus on Sept-October can attest to this.

And as disturbing as it was, there were rumblings in Ile-Ife where I stayed and the cries where the same – most aged people were not graced the access to their Voter’s Card simply because of the fact that their PVC was nowhere to be found.
With the hullabaloo of the PVC in Osun, it was obvious that most eligible voters would likely be disenfranchised in 2015; something INEC must take the fall for should anomalies take place.

Having witnessed Osun’s, particularly Ife’s PVC issue, I came back home (to Lagos) about 4 weeks ago and I made enquiries from friends on how to get my card. My friends confirmed that they came around to the street before taking it to a nearby secondary school about a week after before taking everything to Ogudu, Ojota. I made a resolve to get it last week Tuesday and I went with a friend who was yet to collect his as well.

Luckily, we got it after several minute procedures but the story was almost like that of Ife – youths were there in their numbers, most of whom had misplaced their TVCs. It was obvious there was a glaring glitch in the process; I mean, most of us are not well detailed and careful in keeping things, but that is not to say that disenfranchisement should be the price for misplacing a ‘paper’ which is laminated for some and not for others.

To the main reason for putting up this post

While I went into the large room filled with the INEC equipment and staffs to get my PVC after being called, I noticed thousands of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) littering the large room. Some were placed in small rectangular boxes of about 60cm in length, some were heavily bundled without boxes casing them while others occupied over 30 huge Ghana-must-go backs. Judging by the tons of PVCs therein, I would say there are over one hundred thousand or more voter’s cards one in that spacious room at the Kosofe Local Government Secretariat at Ogudu, Ojota.
And as if that was not enough, upon collecting my PVC, my TVC was collected and thrown carelessly on the floor. Alongside mine, a few number of them littered the floor where the INEC officials used as the collection point of the PVC at the Secretariat and it had me worried. I kept wondering why they could not just collect them and put them in a bag at once upon collection, and then burn them up afterwards since they are of no more relevance.

I also kept wondering what would happen to the thousands of Permanent Voter’s Cards because as it stands, it is quite obvious that they will not be claimed by their rightful owners just because they have misplaced their Temporary Voter’s Cards.

Although the electoral body proffered a solution to those who had long misplaced their TVC – get that of a friend/colleague, neighbor, siblings or spouse who registered with you at the exact same place. However, as this may also be complicated, I’d suggest that the names and photographs of registered voters be pasted ward by ward so that most Lagosians and Nigerians will not be disenfranchised in the forth-coming election.

I tried getting some snapshots while I was at Ogudu but was quickly restrained by an official. Regardless, it is imperative that Nigerians must choose who they would want to represent them in the forth-coming elections and it would be better if INEC see to this objectively. A new Nigeria is our dream. Happy New Year in advance to everyone out there.