My Experience At INEC Obio/Akpor PVC Collection Center, Portharcourt -By Ebere Chuks Onuedem

On Wednesday, 28^th Dec 2022, I set out to the Obio/Akpor INEC office to collect my Permanent Voters Card. The Obio/Akpor INEC office is along the Eliozu-Rumuokoro section of the East-West Road, just before Brain Field School, and just after Grace Covenant Ministry, In fact, it shares the same fence with the Grace Cathedral.

I arrived at the office around 10 am. On getting to the INEC office, I was amazed and disappointed to see a large crowd of people…

Disappointed I say, yes, because prior to my coming, I was told by some others who visited there earlier, that it takes less than 10 minutes to get your PVC.

But then, I must confess that I was also happy to see the enthusiasm of Nigerians toward the forthcoming general elections. The desperation and willingness to get their PVCs and exercise their suffrage is quite heartwarming and reassuring. Of course, Nigerians have really suffered in the past 8 years, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better, hence, the desperate need to change the system.

I looked around and observed that there were different collection points for each ward, so I began the task of locating where my ward was queued. That alone is a herculean task…

I finally located my ward (Ward 1 Oroigwe) at the rear side of the building, it was a very long queue! A very discouraging queue at that, but I was determined to wait. The task of finding a better Nigeria is a very daunting one.

We were made to write our names on a long list, I was number 54. I observed that the process was quite easier with some other wards like ward 9, with just a few persons, but our Ward 1 is a very big ward!

From the list, we were called to queue up according to the list order. I observed a middle-aged woman who was doing all the protocol duties, organizing the line, taking down the names, and collecting people’s print-outs for sorting their PVCs. I initially thought she was an INEC staff, I was just surprised to find out she is only a volunteer. She also came to collect her PVC but seeing how rowdy the process was, she took it upon herself to make the process more organized. She did an excellent job, everybody there attested to the efficacy of her efforts, including the INEC staff… That is the patriotic Nigerian Spirit.

After a long hour of waiting in the queue, as expected, people got tired and exhausted, some contemplated leaving, but decided, on second thought, to stay. After all, they said, it’s the sacrifice for a better Nigeria, for us and our children. It was at this point some persons started voicing out why they are so interested in the forthcoming election, and why they really want to change the system. They complained about the current harsh economic reality and the standard of living.

’’A bag of sachet water that was selling for N70 that year is now about N300’’, a young lady exclaimed.

’’We don’t even see fuel to buy, despite the very high cost’’, another joined.

Many others soon joined the lamentation, they talked about the exorbitant prices of various commodities, especially foodstuffs; palm oil, bag of rice, etc.

The various frustrated voices were unanimous on one thing; a change in government is desperately needed!

Just when it got to my turn in the queue, the INEC officer said I could not get my PVC with the acknowledgment slip I tendered. According to him, I need to bring a printout of my PVC status from the INEC website. You can guess how frustrated I had become at this point. I could recall vividly that the INEC officials during registration/voter transfer told us to go with the acknowledgment slip when it was time to collect the PVC…

Well, I went to the Café just outside the INEC gate to print out my PVC status, after all, I can’t just let these spent hours of my time go in vain. On getting to the café, they told me that they charge N500 to print the status, really?…

It was at this point I felt I’ve had enough, I just have to go. So, I stormed out of the café heading straight to my house. While waiting by the roadside, for a vehicle to take me home, many thoughts came to my mind; should I just let these 4 hours go in vain? How about my desire and that of other tired Nigerians, to change the system? And the required sacrifice for a better Nigeria? I have also told people I was going to get my PVC, how will I explain to them that I abandoned the process halfway? How then can I still mobilize people for the process, as I used to, when I could not finish the process myself??

So I went back to the café, and I found another way to print it for just N100.

To cut the long story short, I finally got my Permanent Voters Card after 5 hours of waiting!

Lessons Learnt;

• People are hungry and desirous of change
• People are frustrated and tired of the system
• Next year’s election will see a reduction in voter apathy compared to the last election, there will be a lot of first-time voters in the next election
• Lots of PVCs are yet to be collected
• If you’re going to get your PVC, especially at the Obio/Akpor INEC office, I will advise that you either go very early before 8 am, or go around 1 pm, so you don’t have to stand and wait in the queue too long.

Observations:

• The PVC collection process could be much faster if it can be more organized
• Also, it is very clear that INEC needs more hands for the job, there is a need to up manpower for the exercise
• I think by now, we can be talking about how to decentralize the process… What if this PVC collection is outsourced to various private organizations, to make things easier and faster
• Waiting for die minute rush is unnecessary, find time to go to the INEC office close to you and get your PVC handy, the general election is just 2 months away!

The Nigeria of our dream is possible and realistic if only we are determined to work for it!