2027: Makinde/Daura Campaign Alerts of Plots by APC to Access Unclaimed PVCs

…Calls on INEC to Address Allegation…Charges Nigerians to be Vigilant

By Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately address allegations in the public domain of plans by some of its unscrupulous officials to furtively hand over millions of unclaimed Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election.

The party made the call in a statement on Thursday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediha in Abuja.

The Campaign has therefore demanded that INEC should address further allegations that its compromised officials are opening the way for the APC to use the unclaimed PVCs to infiltrate polling centers with unregistered persons to use the unclaimed cards to sway the outcome of the elections to APC’s advantage in some mapped out locations.

This allegation, the campaign council said, puts a huge burden on the management of INEC as it portends a serious breach on the integrity of the coming election and threatens the very core of democracy in Nigeria.

It said, :Our Campaign insists that an unclaimed PVC must neither be a disposable property nor a political asset to the enemies of credible elections.

“It must not be at the mercy of electoral manipulation but a strictly controlled electoral instrument, whose compromise, in any way, opens the door to electoral fraud.

“Since the overwhelming surge of solidarity and support by voters across Nigeria for the Presidential Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Engr. Seyi Makinde and his running mate, Alhaji Lawal Musa Daura, the failed APC has been jittery and seeking every means including attempting to compromise INEC processes against the APM.

“Such attempts by the APC including this alleged plot to use unclaimed PVCs to compromise the election is dead-on-arrival as Nigerians across the country are now at alert and will resist such plots.

“In order to restore public confidence on the integrity of the electoral process, INEC owes Nigerians and indeed the International Community a clear public account of the custody, security, and exact quantity of unclaimed voter cards nationwide.

“INEC must publish a transparent, state-by-state breakdown of all uncollected PVCs currently in its custody and a detailed security protocols it has established to prevent unauthorized access, collection, or transfer of uncollected cards.

‘It must take transparent measures to ensure that every ballot cast belongs to a duly registered and legally qualified voter”, it said.

The MDPCO urged all Nigerians to remain vigilant throughout my this electoral cycle, adding “Nigerians should keep a close eye on their local polling units and immediately report suspicious activities to security agencies and accredited election observers”.

The council also called on the international observers to “note this serious issue and demand assurances from INEC”.

The integrity of the 2027 general elections, MDPCO pointed out,

“depends largely on the sanctity of the voter register and other materials, long before the first ballot is cast”.

According to the council, “Nigerians do not need post-election explanations; they deserve pre-election transparency.

“Time is therefore here for the INEC to move beyond choreographed assurances to actions that guarantee the integrity and credibility of elections in Nigeria.

“The 2027 general elections must not be an exercise in which Nigerians merely vote; it must be an election in which every legitimate vote is protected and every attempt to manufacture or manipulate votes is decisively resisted.

‘Moreover, Nigerians are not ready to accept any results that do not reflect their Will and aspiration in the 2027 Presidential election”, the statement concluded.