A bitter ‘war is currently ravaging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over the use of Permanent Voters and Card (PVC) and card readers for the March 28 and April 11 general elections.

Sources within the workings of the commission revealed to Abusidiqu that the decision of the Attahiru Jega led commission to use the PVC for the elections have caused deep division within the senior staffs of the electoral umpire who are scheming to outdo each other in the infighting.

While a faction of the senior members of the commission led by Jega is insisting on using the PVC for the elections, another faction led by the Commissioner of Operations in the commission, Dr. Nuru Yakubu is strongly opposed to the use of the PVC, but is instead rooting for the use of the Temporary Voters Card (TVC).

Abusidiqu gathered from a very reliable source that the Yakubu led group is been sponsored by the presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to ensure that the plan by Jega to use PVC for the elections is scuttled by all means. This the presidency and the PDP has resorted to having failed to force Jega by all its tactics to stop the use of card readers for the elections.

The commission had said that it would introduce card readers for voters’ accreditation in order to verify the rightful owners of PVCs.

It said that the device would eliminate impersonation and voting by proxy during the elections.

But the presidency and the PDP had two weeks ago rejected the use of card readers saying the machine may not make for credible elections as it is said to easily malfunction especially when the battery weak.

Stating the position of the party while playing host to a delegation of Africa Union election observers led by AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Dr. Aisha Abdullahi visited the national secretariat of the PDP, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, lampoons the failure of INEC to meet up with the role expected of it as it had not test-run the machines for Nigerians to see whether the process would be successful or not was a big failure by INEC.

This has also been the position of top PDP elements like David Mark, Sambo Dasuki and some governors in the party.

However, the appearance of Jega at the floor of the Senate, where he explained how the card readers would be used to ensure a free, fair and credible election punctured the argument of the PDP while rejecting the use of the device.

Jega told the senate that the efficiency of the card reading machines is not in doubt as the commission has conducted mock test on the devices in all six geopolitical zones of the country, and ascertained that the devices are in good working order.

But determined to ensure that the INEC revert to the use of the TVC which is highly subjective to any form of rigging, the presidency and the PDP have resorted o using the senior members of the commission to achieve its aim.

Our said said the presidency has told the INEC’s Commissioner for Operations to ensure that he gets as many commissioners as possible to kick against the use of the card reader which will make it easy for it to rig the elections tom its favour.

Abusidiqu had earlier reported on how the presidency contracted a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Tom Ikimi, former Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu and others to write the 2015 election results in some states in connivance with the Resident Electoral Commissioners in those states.

This development is seriously spiraling a crisis in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), that may affect the credibility of the elections as the commissions chairman, Attahiru Jega, despite the mounting pressure from the Yakubu led group sponsored by the presidency who are opposing the use of the card readers.

“Both Jega and Yakubu are now into serious dispute and the centre can no longer hold as things have fallen apart,” our source said.