In Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as with other parts of the country, the new year will be characterised by political activities due to the general elections to start from February 25, 2023. But beyond political issues, certain other factors are bound to shape the year for residents.

WITH the general elections less than two months away, Nigerians living in the FCT, eager to participate in the voting process, have been trooping in and out of designated collection centres to obtain their permanent voter cards (PVCs).

Residents, mostly youths, can be spotted in clusters at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collection centres, wanting to obtain their cards.

Across Nigeria, young people make up over 71 per cent of the nine million new registrants recorded by the INEC. This is reflected in the large number of youths found at PVC collection centres within the FCT, where over 183,000 valid registrations were completed.

A resident of the Jabi area of the city, Amaka Okoye, recounted, in an interview with The ICIR, her experience at the collection centre.

“It did not take me too much trouble to get my PVC, although I think adequate information was not given concerning collection centres. I had to visit the INEC office in Karu first, before I was redirected to the one in Area 10. But once I got there, getting the card was not too difficult, just that the place was crowded,” Amaka said.

As the January 22 deadline for the distribution of PVCs draws closer, crowds at INEC collection centres have continued to increase, making the process more cumbersome for other registrants.

While this may suggest a massive turn-out of voters during the elections, some residents have experienced difficulty with the process as their cards were unavailable at the time of collection.

Another resident of the FCT, Abosede Korede, confirmed that she had attempted to get her PVC from the INEC office on two occasions without success.

“I went to the INEC office at Area 10 to collect my PVC, but they told me my card was not available. I don’t know why they couldn’t find it. They just asked me to write my name and phone number in a paper and check back in two weeks,” Abosede said.

She expressed concern over a possible disenfranchisement ahead of the forthcoming elections.

Beyond the PVC card challenge, other residents have also expressed concern over likely cases of violence during the election. This fear stems from cases of the insecurity recorded within the FCT in 2022.

READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/2023-elections-demolitions-others-to-be-expected-in-fct/

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