Can Jega show Nigerians proof that the Chinese company printing the PVCs has been paid in full by disclosing the total contract sum and the amount paid to date?
Can Prof Jega show proof of arrival or expected date of arrival of all PVCs for the elections? Can Jega tell Nigerians how he could have distributed 23 million PVCs within five days to the election if there hadn’t been a postponement?
Could this be why Jega has refused to allow citizens use their temporary voter cards despite pleas from the National Assembly and well-meaning Nigerians?
Does it make sense to disenfranchise 23 million citizens (a third of the eligible voters) because INEC says it wants to avoid rigging? The 2011 elections were adjudged the most transparent by Nigerians, the international community and the INEC chairman himself, said so without the use of PVCs. So what has changed?
Is this why APC leaders and members insisted on the non-postponement of the elections even when they knew that 23 million Nigerians may not vote? Did they know something we did not know?
Jega said on national television on January 23, that INEC was doing everything possible to ensure that before the end of January, all the cards have been produced and made available. That deadline has come and gone and we still do not have the PVCs. Is he being sincere?
We hereby challenge him to be honourable and transparent. He should publish accurate information on the state of PVCs: how many PVCs are in the country? Where are they located state by state? When would others arrive from China? How does he plan to distribute them before elections?
Jega should respond to these allegations of partisanship and ineptitude, and live up to his responsibilities as an independent election umpire. If he refuses to do so, we may end up losing confidence in him.
Why are the PVCs collection rates in the North-central, South-south, South-west and South-east much lower with the highest being 57 per cent? Is it because these geo-political zones may be pro-Jonathan?
Why does the North-west zone which includes Katsina (Buhari’s home state) have the highest collection rate of 80 per cent ? How come the North-east also has a 75 per cent collection rate when, in fact, three states in this zone-Adamawa, Borno and Yobe have been under the attack of Boko Haram insurgents, a development that has led to the displacement of many residents? Did the internally displaced persons go back there to collect their PVCs?
Why is it that North-central zone, which includes states like Plateau and Benue that traditionally vote PDP, have a collection rate of 48 per cent when North-east and North-west have between 75 and 80 per cent collection rates?
INEC would have us believe that as far back as January 2014, the PVC distribution would be done in phases:
Phase 1, according to the commission, commenced May 2014 in 10 states-Taraba, Gombe, Zamfara, Kebbi, Benue, Kogi, Abia, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa.
Phase 2 covered Yobe, Bauchi (North-east) Jigawa, Sokoto (North-west), the Federal Capital Territory, Kwara (North-central), Anambra, Ebonyi (South-east), Ondo, Oyo (South-west), Delta and Cross River (South-south).
Phase 3 kicked off in November and involved 13 states – Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Adamawa, Borno, Edo, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, and Plateau.
Can Jega explain to Nigerians how Kano, Adamawa, Borno, Kaduna and Katsina, which were slated for Phase 3 and actually kicked off in November 2014, have achieved a 75-80 per cent PVC collection rate whilst many states slated under Phases 1 and 2 and even some others in Phase 3 are still in the 40-50 per cent collection rate?
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