The Independent National Electoral Commission in Ogun State has said that it will disenfranchise anyone found with cloned Temporary Voter’s Card in the run-up to the 2019 general elections.
INEC said TVCs generated from cyber cafes could not be presented for the collection of the Permanent Voter’s Cards, warning that registering for and obtaining TVCs from cyber cafes and business centers was a violation of the electoral laws.
The Head, Voter Registration, INEC in the state, Mrs. Adenike Tadeshe, stressed that TVCs generated from cyber cafes would not only be rejected by the commission, the holders, too, would not be allowed to vote in the forthcoming general elections.
Tadeshe spoke at the 2018 annual workshop organised by the Correspondent Chapel of the Ogun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Abeokuta. The theme of the workshop was “Effective Reportage of Electioneering Campaign And Electoral Process.”
She said it was illegal for anyone to generate or produce TVCs from any other source outside accredited INEC offices and by officials of the commission.
Tadeshe said, “Registration can only be done at INEC offices. It is only INEC that is saddled with the responsibility of registering eligible voters. Registration taking place at business centers is high violation of the electoral laws; they are running foul of the constitution and the Electoral Law 2010.
“Those cards generated from such cyber cafes cannot be used to collect a Permanent Voter’s Card. Neither can it be used during elections to vote. So, it is as good as they are just wasting their time and at the same time, they are sabotaging the efforts of INEC in ensuring that we have a credible register of voters and we have credible, free, fair and acceptable elections come 2019.”
Cards generated from cyber cafes cannot be used to collect a Permanent Voter’s Card
The INEC official, who said that the commission had the power to prosecute defaulters, urged cyber cafe operators to desist from engaging in such illegal act.
She warned that anyone found culpable for such an offence would be prosecuted and sent to jail.
“Those people that did such things, we have apprehended them, and we want to say that INEC can prosecute them because they don’t believe that we can do so. They can be penalised, they can even go to jail or they are given both punishments, depending on the gravity of their offence. We have the power to prosecute along with the police; that is why we are telling our people to, please, desist from this act before the arm of the law catches up with them,” she said.
Tadeshe, therefore, urged the people to register for their TVC at INEC offices across the 20 local government area secretariats of the state, insisting that only the TVC obtained from INEC would be used to give them PVCs.
“Our people should not go to any media center to register. The only registration centres we have are from INEC and in the state, we have 20 local government offices, where we register and we have another 20 additional registration centres, which are on rotational basis where our people can register,” she said.
The INEC official enjoined the people in the state to shun violence before the elections and avoid politicians wanting to buy their votes after enticing them with gifts.
She stressed that people must resist the temptation to sell their votes.
Tadeshe, however, warned residents to desist from selling their votes by giving out their PVCs to politicians before elections in exchange for gifts.
“Our politician should, please, avoid buying votes from our people. Once our politicians know that the 2019 elections are around the corner, they start going around to buy PVCs from our people for a bag of rice and yards of clothes. When they do that, they have bought their conscience,” she said.
