INEC distributes 56.4million PVCs nationwide •As card reader gets stolen in Zamfara

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, disclosed 56.4 million eligible voters have collected their permanent voter cards (PVCs) out of the 68 million registered voters, representing 81.98 per cent, leaving behind 12.4 million PVCs uncollected. This was contained in a final table of collection of the PVCs in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Territory Capital, Abuja, made available to newsmen on Sunday, by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr Kayode Idowu.
The distribution and the collection of the PVCs finally came to end on Sunday ahead the polls.
According to the table of PVCs distribution, while 11 states crossed the 90 per cent threshold collection rate, 11 states also were in the 80 per cent zone.
However, nine states were at 70 per cent, while six states were in the 60 per cent zone.
The states in the 90 per cent zone were Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara states.
Those in the 80 per cent zone were Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross-River, Delta, Enugu, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger and Rivers states.
Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Plateau and Yobe were in the 70 per cent zone, while Edo, FCT, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states trailed in the 60 per cent mark.
Meanwhile, the INEC in Zamfara State, lost one card reader during the training of ad hoc staff in Anka Local Government Area of the state, an official has confirmed.
Alhaji Garba Galadima, INEC Head of Voter Education and Publicity in the state, who confirmed the incident on Sunday, in Gusau, said security agents were investigating the matter.
Reacting to the issue, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Sunusi Amiru, said the police had already arrested some suspects in connection with the stolen machine.
He said investigation had also commenced to unravel the circumstances behind the missing machine.
Amiru expressed the command’s readiness to ensure peaceful election in the state, saying “we will not tolerate any threat to disrupt election process and we have to ensure full protection of INEC materials.”
He called on members of the public to cooperate with security agents and the INEC to ensure successful elections.