The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed six weeks for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2023 general election.
According to Barr. Festus Okoye, the national commissioner of INEC’s information and voter education committee, the date was fixed during a meeting on Thursday.
The West African Pilot News reports that the commission’s administrative secretaries and resident electoral commissioners (RECs) from the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory held a retreat in Lagos between 28 November and 2 December 2022.
Barr. Okoye said all eligible and valid registrants can collect their PVCs starting from Monday, 12 December 2022 to Sunday, 22 January 2023 in all the 774 local government offices of the commission throughout the federation between 9:00 a.m and 3:00 p.m daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.
He said the commission also resolved to devolve the collection to the 8,809 registration areas/electoral wards from Friday, 6 December 2022 to Sunday, 15 January 2023.
The commissioner explained that those who are unable to collect their PVCs at the local government offices of the commission can do so at the registration areas/electoral wards.
He, however, said after 15 January, the exercise will revert to the commission’s local government offices until 22 January 2023.
Barr. Okoye also said the RECs and electoral officers have been directed to set up help desks to assist registrants with complaints about their PVCs or with the PVC collection procedure.
He thanked Nigerians for their patience with the commission during the six months of registration and assured of the commission’s commitment to ensure that the PVC collection process is hitch-free.
“The commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered as voters or applied for transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022. In making the cards available for collection, the commission is also working to ensure that the process is simple and hitch-free for Nigerians,” he said.
