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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it has successfully produced 184,438 permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) for new registrants and various other designated categories, in preparation for the upcoming off-cycle governorship election in the state.
Naija News reports that the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this during a press conference held in Abuja on Monday (today).
The electoral commission has set the dates for the Edo and Ondo state governorship elections, which are scheduled to take place on September 21, 2024, and November 16, 2024, respectively.
Speaking at the gathering of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja today, Yakubu emphasized that the two governorship elections, along with seven bye-elections, were the primary agenda of the meeting.
The INEC chairman said: “Today’s meeting is coming close to two off-cycle governorship elections. As you are aware, the Edo and Ondo states governorship elections are around the corner. Furthermore, there are pending bye-elections to fill seven vacancies in the National and State Assemblies across six states of the federation.
“Following the conclusion of the last Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in Edo and Ondo states, the commission published the figures of new registrants for the two States following the clean-up of the register.
“For Edo State, 119,206 new voters were registered. In addition, 8,847 voters transferred their registration from other States of the Federation to Edo State, while 46,171 voters transferred their registration within the state i.e. from one part of the state to another.
“As provided by law, the commission has updated the records of 4,808 voters that applied for correction of names, addresses or dates of birth from previous registrations and also replaced 5,406 lost or damaged PVCs.
“Put together, 184,438 voters of various categories were served by the commission during the last CVR in Edo State. They will be issued new voters’ cards (PVCs),” Yakubu said.
Yakubu mentioned that all the cards had been successfully printed and dispatched to the INEC office in Benin City, and subsequently transferred to Electoral Officers (EOs) for distribution to the electorate.
The head of INEC has assured that to facilitate a smooth process; the cards will be accessible for collection in all 192 wards within the state where the final CVR was conducted.
This collection period is scheduled from Thursday, August 22, 2024, to Monday, August 26, 2024, with operations extending from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, including weekends.
He further stated that the collection process will be extended to include 18 local government offices throughout the state, commencing on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, and concluding on Sunday, September 8, 2024, with the same operational hours.
He said, “Detailed information on the dates and location of the 210 centres (192 Wards and 18 LGA offices) has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.
“Furthermore, the commission has developed a register containing, among other information, the names and photographs of the 184,438 voters to ease the collection of their PVCs.
“The register has also been uploaded to our website (https://inecnigeria.org/?page_id=13804) to facilitate easy identification and collection of the cards.”
Yakubu said that the commission’s policy that PVCs must be personally collected by registered voters had not changed, as the cards would not be distributed or collected by proxy so that they do not end up in the wrong hands.
“We urge voters who took their time to register during the CVR to also take time to collect their PVCs in person and, most importantly, to come out on Election Day and vote for the party of their choice.”
Yakubu further disclosed that as part of the preparations for the Edo State Governorship election, the softcopy of the final and comprehensive register of voters would be distributed to each political party intending to field candidates in the election scheduled for Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
This distribution is in accordance with item 10 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election.
Regarding the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for the Ondo off-cycle governorship election, Yakubu mentioned that the commission is in the process of establishing a collection schedule for the PVCs across the state.
He emphasized that the commission’s primary focus is currently on Edo State, given that the election is set to take place in the next month.
Yakubu also reassured the citizens of Ondo State, stating that measures are being implemented to ensure the availability of their PVCs for the governorship election in November 2024.
“Very soon, the commission will make available detailed arrangements for the collection of PVCs for all categories of voters from the recent CVR in the state,” Yakubu said.
The post INEC Release Fresh Update Ahead Of Edo, Ondo Guber Elections appeared first on Naija News.
