Victor Ezeja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is investigating an alleged extortion of registered voters in Enugu by its staff in the ongoing collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
In a video that has now gone viral, an unidentified official of INEC was seen demanding money before issuing the Permanent Voter Cards to owners.
In the video sighted by Prime Business Africa, the incident was said to have occurred at Emene Primary School in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State. A light-complexioned woman, who was said to be an INEC official, speaking partly in the Igbo language, told the people to pay ₦1,000 each to collect their PVCs.
She said the money was to offset transportation costs to the local government from where the registered voters were supposed to pick up their PVCs.
When confronted with the fact that potential voters were not meant to pay to collect PVCs, and that the ₦1,000 she demanded was rather too much, she became enraged and arrogantly asked them to go to the local government and collect their voter cards.
READ ALSO: How To Check And Confirm Your PVC Online
Meanwhile, some of the registered voters in the area appeared to have paid to collect their PVCs as they were heard in the video thanking her.
READ ALSO:2023 Elections: How To Confirm Your Polling Unit Online
But when others kept questioning her demand for money before they could be issued their voter cards, she resorted to verbal attacks, threatening to fight them. When reminded that she would be reported to INEC for extortion, she boasted that nothing could be done to her.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in response to Prime Business Africa’s prompting on the matter Monday morning, said the Commission “is investigating” the matter and would take appropriate action when investigations are concluded.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
