As the Edo State governorship election scheduled for September 21 draws near, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for newly registered voters will commence on August 22, 2024. The announcement was made by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Monday.
According to Prof. Yakubu, a total of 184,438 voters were registered during the recently concluded Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise in Edo State. This figure includes 119,206 new registrations, 8,847 inter-state transfers, and 46,171 intra-state transfers. Additionally, 4,808 voters requested corrections to their details, while 5,406 applied for replacements of lost or damaged PVCs.
Prof. Yakubu confirmed that all the newly printed PVCs have been delivered to the INEC office in Benin City and are now ready for collection. He detailed that registered voters can pick up their cards at any of the 192 wards across Edo State from August 22 to August 26, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. daily, including weekends. Following this period, the collection will move to INEC Local Government offices throughout the state from August 28 to September 8.
“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 for collection by voters,” Prof. Yakubu stated.
To streamline the collection process, INEC has developed a register that includes the names and photographs of all 184,438 voters. Prof. Yakubu emphasized that PVCs must be collected in person to prevent electoral malpractice. “It is important to emphasize that the commission’s policy that PVCs must be personally collected by registered voters has not changed. The cards will not be distributed or collected by proxy so that they do not end up in the wrong hands,” he said.
Prof. Yakubu also urged voters who registered during the CVR exercise to take the time to collect their PVCs and, more importantly, to participate in the upcoming election by voting.
Looking ahead, Prof. Yakubu assured that similar arrangements are being finalized for Ondo State, where the governorship election will take place in November. “Our attention is focused on Edo State at the moment because the election is held next month. However, I want to assure the electorate in Ondo State that action is being taken regarding the availability of their PVCs for the governorship election in November,” he added.
