The collection of Permanent Voters Cards at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (774 local government offices nationwide) has set dates.
The Commission set the dates for PVC collection as Monday, December 12, 2022 through Sunday, January 22, 2023.
Festus Okoye, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, revealed this in a statement on Friday, stating that the dates were chosen after consideration of a variety of concerns on Thursday.
The dates for the nationwide collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) were discussed by the Commission when it convened on Thursday, December 1, 2022, according to INEC.
You may recall that from November 28 to December 2, 2022, the Commission hosted a retreat in Lagos for all of the Administrative Secretaries and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The Commission finalized the process and schedule for collecting PVCs during the retreat.
As a result, the Commission has set Monday, December 12, 2022, through Sunday, January 22, 2023, as the dates for the collecting of PVCs at all 774 of the Commission’s local government offices across the Federation.
Additionally, the Commission decided to delegate PVC collection to the 8,809 Registration Areas/Wards from January 6 through 15, 2023. The Registration Areas/Electoral Wards are where those who are unable to pick up their PVCs at the Local Government Offices of the Commission can do so. The exercise will return to the Local Government Offices of the Commission from January 15 and run there through January 22.
“All qualified and legitimate registrants may pick up their PVCs from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm every day, including weekends.
“All the RECs and Electoral Officers (EOs) have been directed to convene a meeting with the crucial stakeholders in their States and Local Government Areas, including traditional and religious leaders, civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and the media to brief them on the modalities for the collection of the PVCs in order to sensitize the public and ensure the success of the election,” reads the directive.
“In a similar manner, RECs and EOs have been instructed to establish help desks to assist registrants with concerns regarding their PVCs or with the PVC collection procedure for prompt restitution.
The Commission is grateful to Nigerians for their patience and understanding, especially those who registered to vote or requested transfers or replacements of their identification cards between January and July 2022. The Commission is aiming to make the process straightforward and error-free as it makes the cards available for collecting.