On Tuesday, 17th February 2015, our leadership (Intersociety) released the third volume of our explosive publication (How INEC Tainted & Sectionalized Nigeria’s National Register of Voters). Its volumes one and two had earlier been released on 15th and 16th February 2015. As the referenced third volume was enjoying its world-wide circulation and readership on electronic media news, the headship of Independent National Electoral Commission under Prof Attahiru M. Jega, released its PVC distribution update across the country same day with State-by-State breakdown. The INEC in its referenced update praised itself as having achieved 77.8 per cent in the PVC distribution across the update. On Wednesday, 18th February 2015, Chairman of INEC, Prof Attahiru M. Jega appeared before the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to update the upper Chambers on how far the Commission has gone in its preparations for the referenced rescheduled polls. The proceedings were dominated with the usual fallacious “we are fully ready for 2015 elections” pronouncements on the part of INEC team.
Having been the first rights group in Nigeria that demystified the INEC’s headship false sainthood and unmasked its gross inefficiencies and ethno-religious bias, it is our resolve again to forensically review the two referenced developments and mark out the odds buried underneath. These we do in consonance with Section 14 (3) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as it concerns treating all sections of the country equally and fairly in the distribution of collective resources, properties and materials including PVC as well as formulation and implementation of egalitarian public policies including procedures and processes of distribution and collection of PVC, voting accreditation and voting. It remains our clear observation that the referenced section of the Constitution is observed by INEC in grave breach in its recent public conducts particularly the distribution of PVCs.
PVC Distribution Remains Grossly Lopsided In Geopolitical Setting:
North-West PVC Distribution as at 17th February 2015
No. of Registered Voters (RVs) PVCs Distributed Denied PVCs
Kano = 4,975,701 3,487,155 1,488,546
Kaduna = 3,407,222 3,133,813 273,409
Katsina = 2,827,943 2,620,829 207,114
Jigawa = 1,831,276 1,706,814 124,462
Sokoto = 1,611,929 1,380,840 231,089
Kebbi = 1,470,648 1,316,656 153,992
Zamfara = 1,495,717 1,458,519 37,198
Total RVs North-West Zone = 17,620,472 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 2,495,790 (17th Feb 2015)
North-East (war stricken) PVC Distribution as at 17th February 2015
No. of Registered Voters (RVs) PVCs Distributed Denied PVCs
Bauchi = 2,054,125 1,745,411 308,714
Adamawa = 1,559,012 1,328,136 230,876
Taraba = 1,340,652 1,196,583 144,069
Gombe = 1,120,029 1,064,577 55,452
Yobe = 1,099,970 824,401 275,569
Borno = 1,934,079 1,320,667 603,412
Total RVs = 9,107,861 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed = 7,489,769 (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 1,608,092 (17th Feb 2015)
North-Central PVC Distribution as at 17th February 2015
No. of Registered Voters (RVs) PVCs Distributed Denied PVCs
Benue = 2,015,452 1,548,074 467,378
Plateau = 2,001,825 1,406,528 595,297
Niger = 2,014,317 1,413,015 601,302
Kwara = 1,142,267 843,792 298,475
Kogi = 1,350,883 914,164 436,719
Nasarawa = 1,242,667 1,196,583 46,084
Total RVs = 9,767,411 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed = 7,322,156 (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 2,445,255 (17th Feb 2015)
South-West PVC Distribution as at 17th February 2015
No. of Registered Voters (RVs) PVCs Distributed Denied PVCs
Lagos = 5,905,852 3,685, 322 2,220,530
Oyo = 2,415,566 1,569, 390 846,176
Ogun = 1,829,534 747, 556 1, 081,978
Osun = 1,407,107 1,012, 678 394,429
Ondo = 1,524,655 1,071, 010 453,645
Ekiti = 732,021 503, 431 225,348
Total RVs = 13,814,735 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed = 8,589,387 (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 5,225,348 (17th Feb 2015)
South-South PVC Distribution as at 17th February 2015
No. of Registered Voters (RVs) PVCs Distributed Denied PVCs
Rivers = 2,537,590 1,923, 139 614,451
Delta = 2,275,264 1,728, 524 546,740
Edo = 1,779,738 1,145, 782 633,956
A. Ibom = 1,680,759 1,468, 708 212,051
C. River = 1,175,623 879, 249 296,374
Bayelsa = 610,373 404, 119 206,254
Total RVs = 10,059,347 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed = 7,549,521 (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 2,509,826 (17th Feb 2015)
South-East PVC Distribution as at 17th February 2015
No. of Registered Voters (RVs) PVCs Distributed Denied PVCs
Anambra = 1,963,173 1,499,317 463,956
Imo = 1,803,030 1,252,030 551,000
Enugu = 1,429,221 1,065,210 364,011
Abia = 1,396,162 1,115,634 280,528
Ebonyi = 1,074,351 714,351 359,922
Total RVs = 7,665,859 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed = 5,646,442 (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 2,019,417 (17th Feb 2015)
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Distribution as at 17th February 2015
Total RVs = 881,472 (7th Jan 2015)
Total PVCs Distributed = 541,359 (17th Feb 2015)
Total RVs Denied PVCs = 340,113 (17th Feb 2015)
Grand Summary:
The North-East zone torn apart by Islamist Boko Haram insurgency is the zone with the least number of registered voters that have not received their PVCs with 1,608,092 RVs (registered voters).
The South-West zone; Nigeria’s political opposition, civil rights and media hub, is the zone with highest number of registered voters that have not received their PVCs with 5,225,348 RVs.
While, the North including the FCT has a total of 37,377,216 RVs (registered voters), the South is left with only 31,539,941 with the North surpassing the South with 5,837,275.
While the North including FCT has a whopping total of 29,936,607 PVCs as at 17th February 2015, the South is left with only 21785,350 with a difference of 8,692,616 PVCs for the North against the South.
The number of PVCs distributed in six States of the North-West zone; namely Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto and Kebbi totaling 13,646,107; is higher than the total PVCs distributed in the entire eleven States of the South-South and South-East zones totaling 13,195,963.
The number of PVCs distributed in the entire 13 States of the North-West and the North-East zone totaling 22,614,451 is higher than the PVCs distributed in the entire South with 17 States totaling 21,489,769.
The total number of registered voters that have not received their PVCs in Nigeria as at 17th Feb 2015 is 16,600,080.
While a whopping total of 9,754,591 registered voters have not received their PVCs as of date in the South, only 6,899,250 have not received theirs in the North.
It may most likely be correct to conclude that 50% of those that have not received their PVCs in the North-West and the North-East zones are non indigenes dominated by Igbo pastoralists who fled the area to escape hate killing and violence orchestrated by their host populations.
Till date, about 1.3m PVCs are yet to be produced, delivered and distributed by INEC and its contractors.
It is strange and magical as per how INEC distributed a whopping total of 7,489,769 PVCs in the war stricken North-East zone out of its total RVs of 9,107,861; leaving it with only 1,608,092 registered voters without PVCs. This is the zone which precarious security situation to shift in the dates of 2015 polls.
INEC’s PVC distribution as well as voters’ registration in Nigeria under the midwifery of Prof Attahiru M. Jega, is gravely ethno-religious and lopsided; contrary to Section 14 (3) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 with its last amendment.
These are the raw truth, which the headship of the Independent National Electoral Commission has refused to tell Nigerians, preferring to celebrate its monumental failures at every given opportunity such as at the Senate Plenary Session under referenced. INEC is grossly incompetent, ethno-religiously bias and corrupted. Our Facts are not yet exhausted.
*Being text of a statement issued this morning in Onitsha by Intersociety, signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman; and Uzochukwu Oguejiofor, Esq., Head, Campaign & Publicity Department. (Source and credit: News Express).