Ahead of the November 16, 2024 governorship election in Ondo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that 55,859 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been collected.
News About Nigeria reports that the announcement was made by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Tuesday.
Giving details, Olumekun noted that the PVCs were collected over a five-day period, representing 62.2 percent of the 89,777 available cards.
He further noted that this is the highest percentage of PVCs collected in such a short period since the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) process was introduced in 2015.
The PVC collection exercise which ran from October 17 to 21, 2024, took place in all 203 wards across the state.
He said, “Over a period of five days (17-21 October 2024), the Commission made the Permanent Voter Cards from the last Continuous Voter Registration in Ondo State available for collection in all 203 wards across the state. The Commission is pleased to announce that at the end of the five-day period, 55,859 cards were personally collected by new registrants, as well as applicants for transfer and replacement of lost or damaged cards, as provided by law. This figure represents 62.2 percent of the 89,777 cards available for collection. This is the highest percentage of PVCs collected in five days in Ondo State since the Commission introduced the CVR in 2015.”
Olumekun further disclosed that the commission has extended the collection exercise to its 18 LGA offices in Ondo State.
He, therefore, tasked those who are yet to collect their PVCs to maximise this extension period.
“Meanwhile, the collection will resume in our 18 LGA offices in Ondo State from Wednesday, 23 October, to Tuesday, 29 October 2024, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily (including the weekend). Detailed information on the locations of our LGA offices in the state is already available on our website. We appeal to the remaining voters to pick up their PVCs in person from our LGA offices. The Commission reiterates its policy that no cards will be collected by proxy,” he stated.