As the November 11 governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo States approaches, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced resumption for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for registered voters.
According to the Commission, all Local Government area offices in the three States—eight in Bayelsa, 27 in Imo, and 21 in Kogi—will have PVCs accessible for pickup.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner of INEC and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, stated that the current effort exclusively pertains to the three States where governorship elections would be place on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
The Commission said that it has also established other local government-designated centers with a significant backlog of uncollected PVCs.
Olumekun stated that the Resident Electoral Commissioners in the three States would provide information on all of the centers.
He said:
“In continuation of our preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle Governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States, the Commission has approved the resumption of collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for registered voters who could not collect their PVCs before the suspension of the exercise on 5th February 2023 ahead of the last General Election.”
The Commission has set aside weekdays—Monday through Friday, from 9.00am to 3.00pm—for the collection of PVCs for a period of four weeks, from September 11 through October 9, 2023, Olumekun continued.
Two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), according to Olumekun, have been transferred to other States.
In light of the upcoming off-cycle governorship election, he pointed out that Mr. Obo Effanga, the REC for Edo State, assumes leadership in Bayelsa State, and Professor Ayobami Salami relocates from Ekiti State to Lagos.
Following the expiration of the terms of the previous officeholders, he claims that the two States are among those without RECs.
The Commission advised all political parties and candidates to behave peacefully throughout their ongoing campaigns and to refrain from saying or doing anything that could disrupt the peace.