Hon Tolu Bankole to PWDs – Your PVC Is Your Power
By Kabir Akintayo
The All Progressives Congress, APC, National Leader, PWDs has called on Persons With Disabilities to come out en masse to collect their Permanent Voters Cards so as to vote during the 2023 general elections.
Hon Bankole stressed that registered voters can still be disenfranchised if they do not collect their PVCs from INEC and go out to vote.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, fixed Monday December 12, 2022 to Sunday 22 January 2023 as the dates for the collection of PVCs in all the 774 Local Government Offices of the Commission throughout the Federation.
Hon. Bankole, in a press statement released on Tuesday, appealed to INEC, to accord PWDs with special treatment, considering their conditions.
He said “Let me appeal to the election umpire that Persons With Disabilities must be treated with consideration due to our peculiarities during this PVCs collection period across the country to minimize the incidences of ill treatment in previous exercises.
“All the PWDs zonal and state leaders are required to convene a meeting with the various clusters in their states and Local Government Areas, including women and youths to brief them on the need to collect their PVCs in order to be counted in the forthcoming general election.”
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The PWDs National Leader also advised APC candidates, to work closely with zonal and state leaders of PWDs to set up help desks to assist members of the PWDs community with complaints about their PVCs or with the PVC collection procedure for the success of the PVC collection.
He said “For the umpteenth time, I call for the dignified inclusion of PWDs in political campaigns. No candidate is expected to treat PWDs as miscreants during campaign. I frown at any campaign model that will derogate or endanger the lives of PWDs. All PWDs must be treated in a dignified manner during campaigns.
“Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls. APC has proven to be the only PWDs friendly political party and the only way to reward her is by voting for all APC candidates in the coming election which begins with collection of PVCs.”
Meanwhile, INEC has resolved to devolve PVC collection to the 8,809 Registration Areas/Wards from Friday 6th to Sunday 15th January 2023. To ensure those that are unable to collect their PVCs at the Local Government Offices of the Commission can do so at the Registration Areas/Electoral Wards. After the 15th of January 2023, the exercise will revert to the Local Government Offices of the Commission until 22nd January 2023.
According to INEC, “All eligible and valid registrants will collect their PVCs from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.”
