INEC announces dates for PVC collection

Nigerians can now obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) between December 12 and January 22, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced.

The electoral body disclosed this in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, on Friday.

This follows deliberation with the Resident Election Commissioners (RECS) of all 36 federal states and the Federal Capital Territory, on several issues including PVC on Thursday, Okoye said.

He said that the Commission had also decided to transfer the collection of PVC to the 8,809 registration areas/districts from January 6 to January 15, 2023.

"After January 15, 2023, the exercise will revert to local government offices of the Commission until January 22, 2023."

“Those who are unable to pick up their PVCs at Local Government Commission offices can do so at registration areas/electoral wards,” he said.

He said individuals can pick up their PVCs between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. every day, including Saturdays and Sundays.

“It will be recalled that the Commission held a retreat in Lagos with all the Administrative Secretaries and Resident Election Commissioners (RECS) of the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory from November 28 to December 2, 2022. During the retreat, the Commission finalized the procedure as well as the PVC collection schedule.),” he said.

"As a result, the Commission has set Monday, December 12, 2022 through Sunday, January 22, 2023 as collection dates for PVCs at all 774 Commission local government offices throughout the Federation."

He said that all RECs and Electoral Officers (EOs) have been requested to convene a meeting with key stakeholders in their states and local government areas, to brief them on the modalities for collecting PVCs to raise awareness the public and to ensure an exercise.

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Stakeholders, according to Mr. Okoye, include traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups, community organizations and the media.

"Similarly, RECs and EOs have also been asked to set up helpdesks to help registrants with complaints about their PVCs or follow the procedure for collecting PVCs for immediate redress. ", he said.

“The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered to vote or applied for the transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022. In making the cards available for the collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is simple and smooth for Nigerians.”

Qosim Suleiman is a journalist at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which connects local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to cover under-reported issues around the world

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