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INEC Shuts CVR Pre-Registration Portal, April
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would shut down the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) Pre-Registration online portal in April in preparation for the 2023 general election.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, said this, yesterday in Lagos.
Okoye said: “We are going to shutdown the online portal latest by April but the physical registration will be going on until June.
“After June, the possibility of extending the CVR process is next to impossibility because we got to clean up the register, do claims and objections, and we have to print PVCs.
“People have to collect PVCs and we have to give every registered political party the voters register that will be used for the 2023 general election.
“The law has obligated us to stop everything relating to voter registration at a particularly point in time.”
Okoye said shutting down the portal had become imperative for INEC to clear those who had done their online pre-registration for the purpose of capturing their biometrics.
He said the fourth and the final quarter of the ongoing CVR, billed to start on April 11, would be rounded off in June, urging Nigerians to do the needful at the right time, to avoid last minute rush.
Okoye said the commission had seven services on the online registration portal for eligible voters as against six in previous registrations.
He added that the seventh allowed people to locate where their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were domiciled.
For those who registered during the first, second and third quarters of the ongoing CVR, he said the chairman of the commission will soon let them know the date and time when the new PVCs will be ready and the points of collection.
“Some of these PVCs have already been printed and we want people to come and collect their PVCs.
“The fourth and the last quarter will end sometime in June. Now, we do not want a situation where people will begin to rush to register at the 11th hour, to create a surge in our local government and state offices.
“We want people to approach the state or local government offices now and get registered. We have also devolved the CVR to the various registration areas/wards on a rotational basis. We want people to go and register now.
“We do not want a situation where people will overwhelm our offices toward the end of June. People should seize the opportunity and do the needful at this point in time,” the INEC boss said.
Meanwhile, Okoye added that many people were yet to collect their PVCs printed from previous INEC registrations, saying the commission had been making it possible and seamless for people to collect their PVCs.
According to him, Nigerians who made the sacrifice to register for PVCs should make an additional sacrifice to go to either the state or local government offices of INEC to individually pick them up.
“In a place like Lagos and in other states, we have so many PVCs that have remained uncollected from precious registrations and we want people to access these voter cards.
“There are millions of PVCs yet to be collected nationwide. In fact, in Lagos State we have over a million PVCs that have not been collected and this varies from state to state.
“We have millions of PVCs that have not been collected by those who registered since 2011 up till this time,” he said.
According to him, after sometime the commission will gather all the uncollected PVCs and deposit them in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that those PVCs do not fall into wrong hands.
Okoye said one of the biggest challenges encountered in the ongoing CVR was that hundreds of Nigerians in diaspora who used the online pre-registration portal were yet to come back to the country to complete their biometric capturing physically.
He said the law stated that they must present themselves physically to complete the process to be eligible for the issuance of the PVCs to vote or to be voted for.
“So, those who started the online pre-registration and have not completed it, after sometime, it will lapse,” he added.
Okoye said the Nigerians who had moved from one place to another did not need to register afresh but only needed online transfer of details to their new state, local government, ward and polling unit for INEC to print new PVCs for them.
He said the same applied to those who had lost their PVCs and those whose PVCs were defaced.
Okoye, who noted that multiple registration remained a punishable electoral offence, said INEC would use its Automatic Biometric Finger Identification System (ABIS) to clean up those who engaged in multiple registration.
The commissioner, who urged Nigerians to know the power and value of their votes, advised them to be involved to make a difference in governance.
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.