Edo Guber: INEC Commences Distribution of PVCs in 192 Wards Thursday
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
Ahead of the Edo State governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will commence the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in 192 wards from Thursday, August 22, 2024.
The electoral body noted that collection of PVCs would end on Monday, August 26, 2024.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known on Monday in Abuja at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
His words: “Following the conclusion of the last Continuous Voters Registration CVR) in Edo and Ondo States, the commission published the figures of new registrants for the two states following the clean-up of the register. For Edo State, 119,206 new voters were registered.
“In addition, 8,847 voters transferred their registration from other states of the federation to Edo State, while 46,171 voters transferred their registration within the state, that is, from one part of the state to another.
“As provided by law, the commission has updated the records of 4,808 voters that applied for correction of names, addresses or dates of birth from previous registrations and also replaced 5,406 lost or damaged PVCs. Put together, 184,438 voters of various categories were served by the commission during the last CVR in Edo State. They will be issued new voters’ cards (PVCs).”
Yakubu noted that all the cards have been printed and delivered to INEC office in Benin City, adding that they have been handed over to electoral officers (EOs) for collection by voters.
According to him, “To ensure a seamless process, the cards will be available for collection in all the 192 wards in the state where the last CVR took place from Thursday, 22nd August, 2024 to Monday, 26th August, 2024 from 9.00am to 5.00pm daily including the weekend.
“Thereafter, the collection will continue in our 18 local government offices across the state from Wednesday, 28th August, 2024 to Sunday, 8th September, 2024 from 9.00am to 5.00pm, including the weekends.
“Detailed information on the dates and location of the 210 centres (192 Wards and 18 LGA offices) has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.”
The chairman revealed that the commission has developed a register containing, among other information, the names and photographs of the 184,438 voters to ease the collection of their PVCs.
He said the register has also been uploaded to its website (https://inecnigeria.org/?page_id=13804) to facilitate easy identification and collection of the cards.
Yakubu emphasised that the commission’s policy that PVCs must be personally collected by registered voters has not changed.
He maintained that the cards would not be distributed or collected by proxy so that they do not end up in the wrong hands.
The chairman urged voters who took their time to register during the CVR to also take time to collect their PVCs in person and, most importantly, to come out on election day and vote for the party of their choice.
He noted that as part of the commission’s preparation for the Edo State governorship election, the soft copy of the final and comprehensive register of voters would be presented to each political party fielding candidates in the election on Tuesday, 20th August, 2024 in the state office in Benin City.
