INEC also called on Nigerians to report sharp practices in PVC collection centres, assuring that the Commission will act on them.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday announced a seven-day extension of the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said in a statement that the decision was reached in a meeting with the commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
The statement said, “Arising from reports from the various States and discussions with Resident Electoral Commissioners, the Commission has decided to further extend PVC collection in all its Local Government 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. The 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.”
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Okoye encouraged Nigerians who are yet to pick their PVCs to do so but hailed the progress made so far in the exercise.
INEC also called on Nigerians to report sharp practices in PVC collection centres, assuring that the Commission will act on them.
“The Commission will continue to act on all reported cases of sharp practices during the ongoing PVC collection and will ensure that no Nigerian is disadvantaged and all those that carried out valid registration have an opportunity of collecting their PVCs,” the statement said.
The electoral umpire’s decision followed calls by several prominent Nigerians for an extension of the deadline to enable more people pick up their PVCs.