INEC extends deadline for PVC collection

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday extended the deadline for collecting Permanent Voter's Cards, or PVCs, by seven days in response to overwhelming protests from several regions of the nation.

The exercise will now conclude on January 29, rather than January 22 as originally planned.

Since the PVC collection began, there have been several complaints from residents about the problems in picking up the cards, which have been made worse by INEC officials' extortion, and the claimed reluctance of some states to release the cards to non-indigenes.

The media has been flooded with images of congested collecting centers filled with pregnant women, nursing mothers, and elderly people.

In response, INEC promised to discipline any employees found to have used extortion or prejudice when issuing PVCs to any registered voter.

Dr. Festus Okoye, the commission's national commissioner in charge of the committee for voter education and information, revealed the extension in a statement yesterday.

He said that the commission's discussion of the ongoing nationwide collection of PVCs during its regular meeting on Thursday led to the decision.

“The commission is encouraged by the turnout of registered voters and the surge in the number of collected PVCs across the country. In some of the states, as many as 100,000 PVCs were collected in the last five days since the devolution to the Ward level started on January 6, 2023.

“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 January 22, 2023, the collection of PVCs will continue until January 29, 2023. At the moment, the period of collection is 9 a.m., – 3 p.m., daily (including Saturdays and Sundays).

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