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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the resumption of collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) in preparation for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States scheduled for Saturday, 11th November 2023.
LEADERSHIP reports that the commission suspended the collection of PVC on February 5, 2023, prior to the last general election. The commission made the announcement in a statement signed by its national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, Sam Olumekun, yesterday in Abuja.
INEC said the collection of PVCs will take place at all its local government area offices in the three states, including eight locations in Bayelsa, 27 in Imo, and 21 in Kogi. Additionally, INEC said it has established designated centres with a substantial number of uncollected PVCs.
It said the details of these collection centers will be provided by the resident electoral commissioners (RECs) in the respective states. The commission said the collection exercise is scheduled to run from September 11 to October 9 2023, taking place on weekdays (Monday to Friday) between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm, spanning a period of four weeks.
In related developments, INEC has announced the redeployment of two RECs. Mr. Obo Effanga, who previously served as the REC for Edo State, has been reassigned to Bayelsa State, in preparation for the governorship election, while Professor Ayobami Salami has also been redeployed from Ekiti State to Lagos State. The statement said the appointments come in response to the need for RECs in states where there were vacancies due to the end of tenure of the previous officeholders.
Furthermore, INEC has reiterated its call for political parties and candidates to maintain peaceful conduct throughout their campaigns, urging them to refrain from making statements or taking actions that could potentially disrupt the peace and stability of the election process.
