Independent National Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) by eight more days.
The commission had earlier slated the exercise in at wards level to end on January 22, 2023, but the collection will now continue until January 29, including weekends.
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In a statement by INEC’s National Commissioner & Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye Esq , the commission was encouraged by the turnout of registered voters and the surge in the number of collected PVCs across the country in the last five days since the devolution to warda level which started on January 6.
He added that the commission is determined to ensure that registered voters have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the forthcoming election.
“For this reason, the timeframe for the collection of PVCs is extended by eight days. Instead of ending on Sunday 22nd January 2023, the collection of PVCs will continue until Sunday 29th January 2023. At the moment, the period of collection is 9.00 am – 3.00 pm daily (including Saturdays and Sundays),” he started.
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Okoye explained that the commission is also investigating allegations of extortion by officials at some of the collection centres and inducement by some unscrupulous voters to circumvent processes in order to obtain their PVCs, vowing that those culprits would face disciplinary action.
He stressed that all bonafide registrants are entitled to their PVCs and to use them to vote on election days in any part of the country where they are registered.
According to Okoye, 13,868,441 PVCs were printed for all new valid registrants as well as applicants for transfer or replacement of cards.
