HURIWA urges INEC to name and prosecute PVC buyers
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
It is not enough for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to announce that politicians are buying Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), it must name and prosecute them, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded.
HURIWA National Coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko said such politicians must be prosecuted immediately, to prevent cover-ups, if INEC is indeed serious about keep its promise of credible elections.
He sought speedy passage of the Establish the National Electoral Offences Commission and Related Matters Bill in the House of Representatives to enable INEC deal with electoral offenders.
“We condemn the actions of desperate politicians buying and storing up PVCs for rigging and electoral malpractices in the forthcoming 2023 general elections,” Onwubiko said in a statement.
“It is important that this method of vote-buying be punished and INEC should disqualify all those buying PVCs, arrest them and prosecute them in the courts.”
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INEC should do more than talking
“INEC should stop talking too much and doing so little. By now INEC ought to have a list of all the politicians buying PVCs, name, shame and prosecute them using the extant Electoral Act 2022,” Onwubiko added, per Daily Post.
“INEC must realise that strategic planning is what is needed and not loud noise and unnecessary grandstanding and propaganda.
“INEC must tighten its processes and technology which have been infiltrated with ghost voters and underaged voters. These imperfections, if not checked using provisions of the Electoral Act, will jeopardise the elections.
“Also, the National Assembly must quickly act on the bill before it creates an electoral offences commission which will hasten the prosecution of rogue politicians.
“But first, the NASS must remove the Clause 32 under Part IV of the bill which criminalises free speech.
APC member allegedly funding attacks on INEC facilities
“All eyes must also be on the 205,127 PVCs yet to be collected in Ekiti State as well as the thousands of uncollected PVCs in other states of the federation because desperate politicians must be planning how to connive with compromised INEC staff to buy over these PVCs.
“INEC should investigate allegations that undesirable elements hired for 25 million USD cash by an unidentified power broker in the All Progressives Congress and that this unpatriotic element is funding a faction of IPOB, the gang denounced by the mainstream IPOB led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which is allegedly responsible for attacking INEC facilities to reduce the chances of the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. PETER OBI.
“Lastly, Nigerians must go out to INEC offices to get their PVCs and exercise their franchise come next year. I
“NEC must reduce the organised confusion and chaos usually orchestrated by some of their corrupt staff to determine the ability of Nigerians to collect their PVCs.”