By Donatus Nadi, Lafia

Some political stakeholders have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take advantage of the postponement of the 2019 general elections and continue the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to eligible Nigerians who are yet to have their PVCs.

They made the opinions known to newsmen in Lafia on Monday.

Alhaji Abubakar Sandaji, an All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain and businessman in Nasarawa state said the postponement of the polls by INEC was a prime opportunity for Nigerians who are yet to collect their PVCs to do so before the election commences on the rescheduled date.

He therefore called on INEC to mobilize staff of the commission to various collection points to give out PVCs to those who wish to get theirs to be able to vote candidates of their choice in the forthcoming general elections.

“I am appealing to INEC to use the opportunity of the postponement to extend time for people to come out and collect their PVCs. I urge INEC to extend it from Monday to Wednesday so more people can get the card to vote. Nigerians should react positively to the postponement by coming out in large number to vote on Saturday,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr James Ugochukwu, Executive Director, African Centre for Entrepreneurship and Information Development (ACEIDEV), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) said the postponement of the 2019 polls should not just be seen in bad light but an opportunity to make the electoral process better.

He said the postponement was an opportunity for INEC to extend the timeframe for the distribution of PVCs to enfranchise as many Nigerians as possible so that on election day, many can go out and cast their votes.

“INEC should use this opportunity to continue the distribution of PVCs to Nigerians yet to get theirs. We still have a week towards the election and a lot of people have not collected their PVCs. This is part of the logistic issues we are talking about,” he said.

Ugochukwu said the NGO also wanted INEC to use the postponement as an opportunity to produce new PVCs for voters in states where INEC offices were destroyed by fire recently.

“States where INEC offices were destroyed by fire with PVCs inside like Anambra, Plateau, Abia. INEC should expedite action to ensure that those affected by the fire are given new PVCs before the election kicks off next week so that they can participate in the election,” he said.

He also called on INEC to offer unreserved apology to Nigerians, international observers and the international community for the surprised postponement of the 2019 general elections, describing the move as embarrassing.