Ahead of the new dateline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for eligible voters to register and obtain their permanent voters cards (PVCs), the Abia State Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA) has embarked on renewed and last-minute spirited efforts to sensitise and encourage traders yet to be captured to avail themselves of this last opportunity.
It will be recalled that the INEC continuous voters registration which began on August 18, 2025, across the country, and which was originally scheduled to end on July 10, 2026, has been extended to July 24, 2026.
The INEC National Commissioner for the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, who announced the development, appealed to all eligible voters yet to register to take full advantage of the extension period as well as embrace the new online self-registration introduced by the Commission.
The ASMATA leadership, which on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, commenced a sensitisation and assessment tour of all the markets in Aba, said the move is aimed at ensuring that all traders who are eligible register and obtain their PVCs before the closure of the last INEC’s registration window.
In a notice addressed to all Market Chairmen and Secretaries, dated July 7, 2026, and jointly signed by the President-General Chief Alphonsus Udeigbo; Secretary Chief Ugochukwu Uzosike; and Hon. Ejike Urams, the spokesperson, the ASMATA also informed that the tour is meant to monitor and collect data on the traders’ compliance level with the INEC PVC registration exercise and Labour e-membership registration.
“This is to inform all market chairmen and secretaries across Abia State of the leadership of the Abia State Markets. Amalgamated Traders Association ASMATA will commence the collection and monitoring of permanent voters card PVC and Labour Party e-registration records in all the markets in the state on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
“You are hereby directed to ensure that all the required PVC and Labour Party e-registration records are properly compiled and made available for inspection and collection by the ASMATA monitoring team/executives,” the ASMATA notice reads.
Addressing the leadership of the markets during the first phase of the tour, the ASMATA President-General Chief Udeigbo, while expressing satisfaction over the enthusiasm shown by traders, however, emphasised the importance of eligible traders making full use of the opportunity provided by the INEC’s two-week extension to register and obtain their PVCs in readiness for the task of sustaining the developmental and transformational governance in the state beyond 2027.
Chief Udeigbo called on both the leadership of the markets and traders to, as a matter of necessity, prioritise participation in the voter registration exercise.
Let me say that we, the ASMATA leadership, are happy with the zeal and commitment so far displayed by both the market executives and traders in general with regard to registering and obtaining their PVCs ahead of the 2027 elections.
“But I would like to appeal to us, especially those yet to register and obtain their PVCs, to use this last opportunity provided by INEC to ensure that they are captured.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that our amiable and God-sent Governor Dr Alex Otti has so far not only kept to his 2023 campaign promises of wiping out our tears, but he has also set Abia on the path of final recovery and transformation through purposeful and sincere leadership.
“On our part, our duty to our generations unborn, humanity and God is for us to ensure that the Governor is re-elected come 2027.
“Failure to register and obtain our PVCs, failure to come out on the election day to vote for our choice, is one sure way of driving ourselves back to the dark years in the wilderness.
“And I am sure no one in his or her widest imagination will want to go back to the years of locusts and abject hopelessness in the state.
“Please let us also avail ourselves of the opportunity provided not just by the extension but also by the new digital registration exercise, which enables eligible voters to register online by themselves,” Udeigbo stated.
The ASMATA President-General also tasked the various markets’ leadership to compile and forward comprehensive records of the number of traders who have so far registered and obtained their PVCs, ahead of the proposed mega rally by the umbrella body of Abia traders.
According to Udeigbo, the Abia traders, immediately after the end of the INEC voters’ registration exercise, will be holding a mega rally during which the governor will be formally adopted as the traders’ preferred candidate for the 2027 election.
On their parts, the leadership of the markets, while pledging their unflinching and unalloyed commitment towards the task of delivering Governor Otti in 2027, also assured that all efforts will be made to effectively utilise the INEC’s two-week extension.
Chief Polycarp Muojiuba, the Chairman of Ariaria International Market, particularly informed that more field officers have been deployed to collaborate with INEC officials in an effort to capture more eligible traders.
The market tour, which will enter its second phase on Wednesday next week, has seen ASMATA leadership visit Ariaria International Market, Enyimba Ariaria Market, Ecumi Shopping Plaza, Allen Market, Foam Market, Ossisioma Ngwa Market (Black Kingdom), Industrial Market Umuezuligbe, and Ekeoha Shopping Mall.
