The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a further extension of the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by one week.
Accordingly, the new deadline is now February 5, 2023.
A statement by the national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, on Saturday in Abuja, said having reviewed reports from all the States of the Federation, the Commission was encouraged by the progress made so far as more Nigerians troop out daily to collect their PVCs.
Arising from reports from the various States and discussions with Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC), Okoye said the Commission has decided to further extend PVC collection in all its Local Government Area Offices nationwide by an additional one week.
“The ongoing collection of PVCs nationwide will therefore continue and end on 5th February 2023.
“This is the second time the Commission is extending PVC collection nationwide and this will be the last extension of the exercise. Collection period has further been extended by an additional two hours and will start at 9 am and end at 5 pm daily including Saturdays and Sundays,” the statement said.
Okoye added that those that engaged in double and multiple registrations should not bother visiting any of the Commission’s offices as the Commission did not print their PVCs.
He said the Commission will continue to act on all reported cases of sharp practices during the ongoing PVC collection exercise and will ensure that no Nigerian is disadvantaged and all those that carried out valid registration have an opportunity of collecting their PVCs.
“The Commission once again salutes the patience and doggedness of citizens,” the statement said.
It will be recalled that at the meeting with RECs on Friday, January 27, 2023, the chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu indicated that the Commission will not hesitate to consider additional measures to ensure that all citizens have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the upcoming General Election.
