As the governorship election in Edo state inches closer, The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has announced that Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) for the Edo State Governorship election, scheduled to be hold next month will be available for collection in all the 192 wards across the state as from Thursday, August 22nd.
Speaking at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja recently, the INEC boss stressed that Commission’s policy that PVCs must be personally collected by registered voters has not changed. He said that the cards will not be distributed or collected by proxy so that they do not end up in the wrong hands. He urged voters who took time to register during the CVR to also take time to collect their PVCs in person and most importantly, come out on Election Day and vote for the party of their choice.
He said, “I am glad to report that all the cards have been printed and delivered to our office in Benin City. From there, they have been handed over to our Electoral Officers (EOs) for collection by voters.
“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 20,24, 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,” he said.
The INEC Chairman also explained that his 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 and the register has also been uploaded to the commission’s website (https://inecnigeria.org/?page_id=13804) to facilitate easy identification and collection of the cards.
He also assured the electorate in Ondo State that action is being taken in respect of the availability of their PVCs for the governorship election which will hold in November adding that the Commission will make available detailed arrangements for the collection of PVCs for all categories of voters from the recent CVR in the State.
The Chairman of INEC also seized the opportunity and reminded media organisations seeking to cover the Edo State Governorship election that the accreditation portal (https://imap.inecnigeria.org) closes at 6.00pm on Thursday 5th September 2024. He observed that only 63 media organizations have uploaded the details of 584 personnel for accreditation for the election.
He urged all interested organizations that are yet to apply to note the deadline and act accordingly.
