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An Oyo state governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof Adeolu Akande, has started a massive campaign across the state, urging residents to go collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2019 elections.
The aspirant at the weekend took billboard spaces across the state for Public Service Messages admonishing residents to collect their PVCs.
The billboard bearing the aspirant’s picture, had messages were in English language, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo languages. One reads “Your Vote: Your Power. Collect Your Permanent Voters Card Today”.
Another reads: “Your Vote is Your Power. Collect Your Permanent Voters Cards Today”. The message in Yoruba reads: “Lofi Oruko Sile ki o si gba Kaadi idibo Alalope re loni “.
Speaking on the campaign, a spokesman for the campaign organisation, Akeem Adetoyese said the campaign became necessary because of the high number of yet to be collected PVCs in the state.
According to him, INEC records in the state indicate that there are 649,000 uncollected cards.
He described the situatiin as worrisome saying that the figure was close to the total number of votes cast in the 2015 gubernatorial election in the state which was about 800,000 votes.
“We cannot afford to leave the mobilisation of voters to register and collect their PVCs to INEC alone. This is the duty of all and that is why we have taken it on as our social responsibility”, he said.
He said the Adeolu Akande Campaign Organisation is first and foremost, concerned about good governance in the state and believes the starting point for electing credible people into government is for eligible voters to register to vote.
“Prof Akande is committed to the emergence of credible leadership in the state and also believes in the right of the people to elect the candidates of their choice. They can exercise this right only when they duly register to vote.
“He also believes that a good number of our youths who turned 18 years only after the 2015 elections will be qualified to vote for the first time in 2019. We are embarking on this initiative to mobilise them to register so that they can discharge their civic responsibilities and help install a good government at all levels during the 2019 elections.
Adetoyese said the campaign is not limited to the outdoor campaign but includes broadcast media and advocacy outreach particularly to youth groups and academic institutions in the state.
He said: “We are counselling our youths that the “likes” in social media platforms will not be counted as votes in the elections. What will count are the actual votes and they can only vote when they register for the elections.
“We are telling them that their complaints on government performance will be futile if they don’t register and vote in elections. They should register and vote.”