The number of Permanent Voter Cards in Oyo State is 28,539 higher than the number of registered voters in the state, The PUNCH has learnt. While the aggregate of available PVCs is 2,962,646, the number of registered voters stands at 2,934,107. A record obtained by our correspondent from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s office in Ibadan, the state capital, on Thursday showed that 2,176,352 PVCs had been collected. But the commission’s Head of Publicity in the state, Mr Olayiwola Awolowo, explained the causes of the discrepancy in the figures. Awolowo explained that some of the owners of the uncollected PVCs are dead, while others had transferred their details to their new locations. He also stated that non-sensitive materials had been distributed to INEC offices across the local government areas in the state. He said sensitive materials were at the Central Bank branch in the state, adding that they would be distributed at the appropriate time. Awolowo sa...

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has asked Nigerians to defend their votes. Atiku made the plea in a Facebook broadcast on Thursday, in what appears to be the last lap of campaigns ahead of the general elections scheduled to commence on Saturday. “The future of Nigeria is in your hands. The power to get Nigeria working again is in your Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC),” he said. “You have got the power; do not give it away by staying at home. Let your voice be heard this Saturday.” The PDP candidate added, “Do not let the fear of election rigging stop you from voting; a high voter turnout is the best antidote to election rigging.” The former vice president asked Nigerians to vote for him and his party and urged them to resist any plans by purported election riggers to take away their right to elect their candidates of choice. He said he has toured all states in the country where he took his plans and visions to get Nigeria wo...

Ballot paper prototype produced by INEC containing the initial 68 political parties. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged voters to ensure that ink does not spill beyond the box meant for a party to another while marking the ballot papers when voting. The electoral body made this appeal while reacting to “false reports” that only the index finger is approved for marking the ballot papers. “INEC’s attention has been drawn to fake news making rounds that the index finger is the only finger approved for marking a ballot paper. This is false,”  INEC said. It described the rumour as “false”, noting that “at the point of registration, all ten fingers were captured. So any finger can be used for marking a ballot paper. “Make sure that your mark is inside the box of your party of choice and does not stray into another box.”