Politics
A group, National Campaign Committee for Buhari (NCCB), has appealed to those yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Ebonyi to do so urgently ahead of the general elections.
The state Coordinator of the group, Chief Okenwa Uka, made the appeal on Tuesday, in Abakaliki, while addressing journalists shortly after the group was inaugurated.
He said that the group would mobilise its members to sensitise the electorate on dangers of not collecting their PVCs, before the February 8 deadline set by the INEC for the collection.
He described as `unacceptable’, the over 199,000 unclaimed PVCs in Ebonyi, saying that the group would do all it could to enhance collection through sensitisation of the voting public.
“The recent release by INEC on the status of PVCs collection in Ebonyi is worrisome, and our group being youth oriented, will do all we can to mobilise our people to go and collect their cards.
“With less than three days to end the collection of the voter cards, we shall intensify our campaigns in this area.
“If need be, hire transportation for those in the interior parts of our communities to enable them to move to the collection centres to pick their PVCs.
“We cannot be talking about giving President Muhammadu Buhari massive votes in Ebonyi, when majority of the electorates are yet to claim their PVCs, which is their power.
“We shall mobilise the youths, women and even the men and we shall ensure that at least half of the 199,000 PVCs are collected before February 8,” Uka said.
The group further charged youths against indulging in election violence including political thuggery, hooliganism and ballot box snatching during the elections.
“Youths must be seen as agents of change and must, therefore, not engage in or be involved in any form of election violence of any kind and other acts capable of endangering the democracy.
“Youths must therefore have as their slogan ‘vote-not-fight’ and eschew all forms of electoral violence.
“The president is committed to a free and fair 2019 elections and we as youths must support the president to actualise this noble dream.
“No ambition of any politician is worth the blood of any Nigerian youth, so we are discouraging violence of all forms in Ebonyi,” he added.
He expressed confidence in the victory of Buhari and National Assembly candidates from the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the February 16 presidential election and the March 2 governorship election in Ebonyi.
Uka further commended Mr Tony Nwonye, the National Director of the NCCB, for organising the youths and for positively channeling their energies to play active roles in partisan politics. (NAN)
