Respite may have come the way of Nigerians who want to exercise their voting rights in next year’s general election as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Monday, December 12, 2022 to Sunday January 22, 2023 as the dates for the collection of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in all the 774 Local Government Area Offices of the Commission throughout the Federation.

INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye in a statement made available to journalists on Friday said this resolution comes after the retreats held in Lagos with all the Administrative Secretaries and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory from 28th November to 2nd December 2022.

Okoye disclosed that at the retreat, the Commission finalised the procedure as well as the timetable for collection of PVCs by Nigerians  across the country, pointing out that  the Commission also resolved to devolve PVC collection to the 8,809 Registration Areas/Wards from Friday 6th to Sunday 15th January 2023. 

He said, those that are unable to collect their PVCs at the Local Government Offices of the Commission can do so at the Registration Areas/Electoral Wards.

Said he:  “After the 15th of January 2023, the exercise will revert to the Local Government Offices of the Commission until 22nd January 2023”.

All eligible and valid registrants he said can collect their PVCs from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.

There have been reports that the Commission met on Thursday, December 1, 2022, and deliberated on a number of issues, including the dates for the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) nationwide.

Okoye also stated that all the RECs and Electoral Officers (EOs) have been directed to convene a meeting with the critical stakeholders in their States and Local Government Areas, including traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups, community-based organisations and the media to brief them on the modalities for the collection of the PVCs in order to sensitise the public and ensure seamless exercise.

Similarly, RECs and EOs have also been directed to set up help desks to assist registrants with complaints about their PVCs or with the PVC collection procedure for immediate redress.

“The Commission appreciates the patience and understanding of Nigerians, especially those who registered as voters or applied for transfer/replacement of their cards from January to July 2022.

“In making the cards available for collection, the Commission is also working to ensure that the process is simple and hitch-free for Nigerians”, he concluded.