Edo Guber: INEC to begin distribution of PVCs on Thursday

Ahead of Edo State Governorship Election slated for September 21 2024, the Independent Nation¬al Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday said, arrangements have been concluded to begin distribution of PVCs from Thursday 22nd August, 2024.

This was disclosed by the National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja.

He said that Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will be available for collection in all 192 wards of the state.
According to him, the collection will take place from Thursday, August 22, 2024, to Monday, August 26, 2024, from 9:00a.m to 5:00p.m daily, including the weekend. This follows the recent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exer¬cise.

The Edo State governor¬ship election is set for Sep¬tember 21, 2024.

According to Yakubu, thereafter, the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will continue at the commission’s 18 local government area offices across the state, beginning Wednesday, August 28, 2024, and running through Sun¬day, September 8, 2024. The collection hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., includ¬ing weekends.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said that detailed information regarding the dates and lo¬cations of the 210 centres, comprising 192 wards and 18 local government area (LGA) offices, has been made available on INEC’s website and social media platforms for public access.

He stated, “After the conclusion of the last Con¬tinuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Edo and Ondo states, the commis¬sion published the figures of new registrants for the two states following the clean-up of the register. In Edo State, a total of 119,206 new voters were registered.

“In addition, 8,847 voters transferred their registra¬tion from other states to Edo State, while 46,171 vot¬ers moved their registra¬tion within the state, from one part of Edo to another. In compliance with legal provisions, the commission has updated the records of 4,808 voters who requested corrections to their names, addresses, or dates of birth from previous registra¬tions, and has also replaced 5,406 lost or damaged PVCs.

“A total of 184,438 voters across various categories were served by the com-mission during the last Continuous Voter Regis¬tration (CVR) in Edo State. These voters will soon re¬ceive their new Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

“I am pleased to inform you that all the PVCs have been printed and delivered to our office in Benin City. From there, they have been distributed to our electoral officers (EOs) for collection by voters. To facilitate a smooth and efficient pro¬cess, the PVCs will be avail¬able for collection at all 192 wards in the state where the last CVR took place.”

Yakubu announced that the commission has devel¬oped a comprehensive reg-ister containing the names and photographs of 184,438 voters to streamline the col¬lection of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

To further ease this pro¬cess, the register has also been uploaded to the com-mission’s website, allowing voters to easily identify and collect their cards, he said.

Yakubu reiterated that INEC’s policy remains firm, PVCs must be collect¬ed personally by registered voters.
He emphasised that un¬der no circumstances will the cards be distributed or collected by proxy, as this measure is critical to ensur¬ing they do not fall into the wrong hands.

He urged voters to per¬sonally collect their Per¬manent Voter Cards (PVCs) and, most importantly, to come out on election day to vote for the party of their choice.

The INEC Chairman add¬ed: “As part of our prepara¬tions for the Edo State gov¬ernorship election, the soft copy of the final and compre¬hensive register of voters will be presented to each political party fielding candidates in the election tomorrow, Tues¬day, 20th August 2024, at our state office in Benin City. This fulfills item 10 of the timetable and schedule of activities for the election.

“The commission is cur¬rently focusing its attention on the upcoming election in Edo State, which is sched¬uled for next month. How¬ever, I want to assure the electorate in Ondo State that we are actively work¬ing on the schedule for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the governorship elec-tion in November.

Detailed arrangements for PVC collection, particularly for those who participated in the recent Continuous Vot¬er Registration (CVR) ex-ercise, will be announced soon.”