Dr.(Arc) Mike Onolememen CON, has advised that all those who have registered in recent times should endeavour to go to their registration centers to collect their PVCs as soon as possible.
All registered PVCs between June 2021 and January 2022 are said to be ready for collection by INEC.
The Edo Central Senatorial candidate and former Minister of Works admonished that those who participated within this said period should visit INEC offices in their respective LGAs where they registered for collections as soon as possible.
He said this in an interactive section with selected journalists in his Abuja base recently, highlighting the fact that with the recent innovations by INEC like the BVAS as empowered by the Electoral Act of 2022, the PVC has become a very powerful tool for the electorates.
According to him, “I want to appeal to all who have recently registered to proceed to go and collect their PVCs and keep them safely for the 2023 general elections, which is going to be dictated by the will of the people, as against the manipulation of a few in those days.
He said: “Rigging is becoming a thing of the past so your vote counts, but it can only count if you have a valid PVC and you also use it for voting. The era of being used as thugs to disrupt elections and casting votes multiple times or even thump printing arbitrarily is gone”.
“The technological innovations by INEC are quite unique and from what we saw in the 2020 election in Edo State and more recently in Osun State gubernatorial election, it is almost impossible to rig elections. So on this basis, the PVC has been given unusual strength, which we must explore to the fullest by ways of collections and usage.”
Onolememen also used the medium to call on all his supporters across the Edo Central Senatorial District to be calm, law-abiding, and focused towards winning the elections for PDP come 2023 which has seen surmountable hurdles due to some court cases bordering the authenticity of candidates in the state.
He said this should not affect the tenacity and steadfastness they have shown all through the times of the ad-hoc congresses to the time of the primaries. He added that no success comes without some forms of stress and initial hurdles.
He enjoined all and sundry to adopt peaceful coexistence initiatives and the necessary winning mentality going toward the 2023 elections.