By Emmanuel Oloniruha
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has further extended the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) nationwide to Feb. 4.
The commission disclosed this in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in Abuja on Saturday.
Okoye said that the decision was made at the commission meeting on Saturday, a day after meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
He said that the meeting deliberated on several issues, including the reports from RECs on the ongoing collection of PVCs in its 774 Local Government Offices nationwide.
“Having reviewed reports from all the states of the federation, the Commission is encouraged by the progress made so far as more Nigerians troop out daily to collect their PVCs.
“Arising from reports from the various States and discussions with RECs, 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 Feb. 5.
“This is the second time the Commission is extending PVC collection nationwide and this will be the last extension of the exercise.
“Collection period has further been extended by an additional two hours and will start at 9am and end at 5 pm daily including Saturdays and Sundays.”
Okoye said that those who engaged in double and multiple registrations should not bother visiting any of the commission’s offices as INEC did not print their PVCs.
He said that INEC would continue to act on all reported cases of sharp practices during the ongoing PVC collection.
He added that INEC would ensure that no Nigerian was disadvantaged and that all those that carried out valid registration had an opportunity of collecting their PVCs.
“The Commission once again salutes the patience and doggedness of citizens,” Okoye said.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu during a meeting with RECs on Friday, said that the commission would not hesitate to consider additional measures to ensure that all citizens were given ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the general election. (NAN)
