Edo guber: INEC begins distribution of PVCs August 22

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will commence distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) in Edo State from Thursday August 22 ahead of the governorship election in the state.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed this at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Monday in Abuja, said the PVCs would be available for collection in all the 192 Wards in the State where the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) took place from Thursday August 22 2024 to Monday August, 26 2024 from 9.00am to 5.00pm daily including the weekend.

The Edo governorship election is scheduled for September 21.

Yakubu stated that PVCs collection would continue in the commission’s 18 Local Government offices across the State from Wednesday August, 28 2024 to Sunday September 8, 2024 from 9.00am to 5.00pm, including the weekends.

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Yakubu said detailed information on the dates and location of the 210 centres (192 Wards and 18 LGA offices) has been uploaded to INEC’s website and social media platforms for public information.

He said: “Following the conclusion of the last Continuous Voters Registration CVR) in Edo and Ondo States, the Commission published the figures of new registrants for the two States following the clean-up of the register. For Edo State, 119,206 new voters were registered.

“In addition, 8,847 voters transferred their registration from other States of the Federation to Edo State while 46,171 voters transferred their registration within the State i.e. from one part of the State to another. As provided by law, the Commission has updated the records of 4,808 voters that applied for correction of names, addresses or dates of birth from previous registrations and also replaced 5,406 lost or damaged PVCs.

“Put together, 184,438 voters of various categories were served by the Commission during the last CVR in Edo State. They will be issued new voters’ cards (PVCs).

“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.”

Yakubu also revealed that the commission had developed a register containing, among other information, the names and photographs of the 184,438 voters to ease the collection of their PVCs.

He said the register has also been uploaded to the commission’s website to facilitate easy identification and collection of the cards.

While emphasising that INEC’s policy that PVCs must be personally collected by registered voters has not changed, Yakubu insisted that cards would not be distributed or collected by proxy so not end up in the wrong hands.

He urged voters to collect their “PVCs in person and, most importantly, to come out on Election Day and vote for the party of their choice.)

The INEC boss added: “Still as part of our preparations for the Edo State Governorship election, the softcopy of the final and comprehensive register of voters will be presented to each political party fielding candidates in the election tomorrow Tuesday 20th August 2024 in our State office in Benin City. This is in fulfillment of item 10 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election.

“The Commission is working on the schedule for the collection of PVCs in Ondo State. Our attention is focused on the Edo State at the moment because the election is holding next month.

“I want to assure the electorate in Ondo State that action is being taken in respect of the availability of their PVCs for the governorship election holding in November this year. Very soon, the Commission will make available detailed arrangement for the collection of PVCs for all categories of voters from the recent CVR in the State.”