By CHARLES IWUOHA

The South Saharan Social Development Organisation (SSDO) and youth-based non-governmental organizations on Friday urged citizens to exercise their civic right of voting by collecting their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

The NGOs made the call after a sensitisation rally along major roads in Enugu State on the need for citizens to participate actively in the forthcoming election by collecting their PVCs at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in the 17 local government areas of the state.

Members of the groups carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Please Collect Your PVC,” “Your Vote is Your Power,” “Pick Up Your PVC in INEC Offices;” “Your Vote Decides Our Future” and “Your PVC is Ready for Collection.”

The Project Lead for SSDO on Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA II), Barr. Nkem Awachie, explained that the low rate of PVC collection motivated SSDO to mobilise youth-based organisations to organise the awareness rally.

Awachie disclosed that SSDO would continue to mobilise and organise monthly rallies for collection of PVCs for the rest of 2022.

“We are optimistic that these rallies will motivate Enugu residents and other Nigerians to be more active citizens by collecting their PVCs and actually vote during the election.

“We hope and we are pressing forward to ensure that the rallies will definitely encourage the residents of Enugu State and entire Nigerians to be wiser and vote for better outcomes in the 2023 elections,” she said.

According to her, the SPA project has an overall objective of improved realisation of fundamental human and democratic rights.

“The SPA project also aims at improved sustainable livelihoods, resilience, and protection for young people, especially young women living in marginalisation, including in disaster and protracted crises contexts in Nigeria,” she added.

Contributing, Mr. Wilfred Okeke, Co-founder of Vibrant Youth Foundation, said that Nigerians, especially youths, should wake up and stop sitting on the fence and “take back their country and take back their future.”

“We should stop complaining as an opportunity to vote in credible and people-oriented leaders are here once more. Let’s use this opportunity wisely by first collecting our PVCs,” Okeke added.

Ms Favour Kalu, a participant, said that education remained the best means of enlightenment and “it is good we are letting Nigerians know the power that lies in their PVCs and why they should collect and jealously protect it.”

Kalu, who is also a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer at SSDO, said that the PVC “is the only vehicle to ensure election of credible leaders comes 2023 general elections.”

The rally was organised by SSDO, in partnership with ActionAid, with the support of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).