Good governance starts with electing the right leaders. This election would not be possible without a permanent voter’s card (PVC). In a country where PVC registration, collection and electio
Good governance starts with electing the right leaders. This election would not be possible without a permanent voter’s card (PVC). In a country where PVC registration, collection and election participation are so discouraging, no effort can be too small in the bid to get the people to carry out their civic responsibilities.
Amaka Matthew, a civic advocate and community leader, is trying to change this one community at a time through her foundation, the Amaka Matthew Foundation. She does this by visiting churches, markets and other social places to advocate and help people begin the process of their online registrations using their own smartphones.
See also: How to register, check details, get your PVC on the INEC portal
Describing the scope of her work, Amaka said there are people who wish to transfer their PVCs or replace damaged ones, but they don’t know they can complete the process on their smartphones. For those ones, she and her team help them complete the online process before putting them in a WhatsApp group where they will be reminded to check if the process has been completed.
Nigerians with their PVC on election day. Source: France 24 Then there are those who have not registered or voted before, as well as those who just turned 18 and will be voting for the first time. Since they require new registrations, the team only does the pre-registration before referring them to the nearest Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office for their biometrics.
“After doing their pre-registration, we collect their phone numbers and add them to a group where we constantly remind them to go for their biometrics. Some of them will become reluctant, but with constant reminders, we will make them go for it,” Amaka said.
Amaka Matthew established her foundation in 2021 as a poverty alleviation platform. This includes education support for children from indigent homes and young single mothers, a food bank project which provides food for the less privileged, and a medical outreach program.
The civic project of PVC sensitisation is a personal project which began in 2021 ahead of the 2023 elections. However, the circumstances surrounding the election- the intimidations, mass rigging and violence made her decide she was done with civic projects. But seeing again how the country is descending into anarchy with children being kidnapped at will, she decided she couldn’t afford to give up.
“I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how that spirit came back double because right now we have gone beyond just sensitisation to helping people go through the steps of registration,” she said.
But while interest in obtaining a PVC appears to be high, completing the registration has been very low. She attributes this to the unwillingness of the same interested people to put in the work and go through the process.
“A lot of people say, ‘I don’t have a card. I thought you want to give it to me now-now.’ I’ll tell them, if you go to a bank for your ATM, do you hurry them? Even your NIN, it is not something you register today and get it today. The moment you tell them they will do their biometric at the nearest INEC office, it becomes a problem. Some of them say they only have chance during the weekend. But now that INEC has started working on weekends, the same people are still making excuses,” she lamented.
Youths at polls She also decried that some folks think her and her team are INEC workers and giving them their contacts automatically means they have been registered. These people will be on the WhatsApp group asking for their PVCs just because they submitted their contacts. Then there are some who simply do not want to do anything
“One time I explained to a man that I will need data to begin the process, as there are already maximum people connected to my WiFi. The man told me that he doesn’t have data, after all, ‘no be federal government dey pay you?” I was so angry. But then people want it, but they do not want the stress of going to the INEC office, queuing, filling any form or doing anything. They just want it the easy way, maybe to press a button on their phone and get their PVC,” she said.
See also: INEC introduces downloadable replacement PVCs ahead of 2027 elections
Despite her efforts, the conversion rate still remains low, noting that for every 1,000 interested persons, her team has managed to convert less than 300, indicating a nearly 30 per cent success rate. She described it as a poor score while taking solace in the fact that there are still some days to go and there is pressure in the WhatsApp group for those who are yet to complete the process to do so.
Amaka Matthew’s sensitisation project has between six and 10 members on a project at any given time. Her team is totally self-funded and has never received financing from an individual or organisation. All expenses, from acquiring banners and megaphones to data, transportation and logistics and lunch for members, are borne by the team.
She also clarified that she was not working for any politician or political party, nor is she advancing the interests of anybody. She said her motivation comes out of the need to see the country working for the masses.
“Our decision to go on this PVC drive is because we want a good Nigeria. I’m an advocate for good governance and a better Nigeria because this is home. Even if I leave the country, I will still want to return to a good country. If I fail to fight for good governance now, that won’t happen. This is solely for the betterment of Nigeria,” she said.
Amaka Matthew calling out to churchgoers However, her family and friends are worried for her because they believe her advocacy might be misconstrued as an attack on the current government and ruling party, which will in turn lead to threats or actual physical and mental harm. They also worry that she may not be able to fight back if that happens. The worry also extends to prospective team members who refused to join for fear of being attacked.
But Amaka remains unfazed, trusting in the fact that she is not supporting any political party, nor politician. Neither is she criticising the present government during her campaigns
“I am not doing anything illegal or outside of the right order. Whenever we go out, we do not call any political party, we do not mention any candidate, we are solely for the mission of voter’s card. So I believe that whenever we see something that can make Nigeria work, we would speak about it. Not just PVC. It is about making Nigeria work, and we will keep doing it until Nigeria becomes that country,” she said.
By way of final words, Amaka pointed out that after three PVC registration phases and now two extensions, anybody yet to get theirs is not doing right by their country.
“If up till this point you don’t have your PVC, then you’re not being fair to yourself, to your family, to this country. You may say your vote does not count, but don’t let that be your problem,” she concluded.
