In the lead-up to the September 21st Governorship election in Edo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that a significant number of newly printed Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have been successfully collected.
Specifically, INEC reported that 125,928 of the 184,438 new PVCs have been distributed to eligible voters within just five days, an impressive 68.3% of the total new PVCs that were issued during the most recent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Mr. Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, provided this update through an official statement released on Tuesday in Abuja.
He emphasized the importance of this achievement, noting, “This marks the highest collection rate recorded by INEC since the introduction of CVR for off-cycle governorship elections in 2015.”
The collection process, which spanned from August 22nd to August 26th, was conducted across all 192 wards in Edo State.
According to Olumekun, this success was no accident but the result of “a carefully coordinated effort by INEC.”
He elaborated on the meticulous planning involved, stating, “The commission is pleased to announce the conclusion of the collection at the Ward level. Learning from the lessons of previous collection exercises, the commission has carefully packaged all the PVCs by Polling Units, Wards, and Local Government Areas (LGAs).”
In addition to organizing the distribution process, INEC took further steps to ensure transparency and accessibility. “We also produced a collection register, providing details of the voters whose cards were ready for collection and uploaded the same to our website,” Olumekun explained.
To keep the public informed, INEC has made a detailed breakdown of the PVC collection by LGAs available on its website and social media platforms. This allows voters and other stakeholders to stay updated on the progress of the distribution effort.
Olumekun also announced that the collection of PVCs would resume in all INEC offices across the 18 LGAs in Edo State from Wednesday until September 8th. He used the opportunity to urge those who have yet to collect their cards to do so promptly. “Let me reiterate INEC’s policy that no cards should be collected by proxy,” he stressed, underscoring the importance of personal responsibility in the electoral process.
For voters seeking additional information, detailed locations of INEC LGA offices have been made available on the commission’s website, ensuring that everyone knows where and when they can collect their PVCs.
This development is a crucial step in ensuring a well-organized and fair election, with INEC demonstrating its commitment to facilitating voter participation and maintaining transparency throughout the process.
