According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), around 800,000 Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) have yet to be collected in Oyo State.
This information was provided by INEC on Wednesday.
Dr. Adeniran Tella, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), stated during a stakeholders meeting on Mock Voters Accreditation/Verification Exercise that the PVCs are still in their various offices for collection.
The meeting was attended by the leaders of several security agencies in the state, who gathered at the INEC office in Ibadan.
Tella stated during her speech that the commission has distributed over 402, 321 PVCs throughout the state.
He then bemoaned the fact that over 800,000 PVCs had still to be collected.
Tella went on to urge residents in the state to obtain their PVCs before they expire.
He also stated that the exercise is critical for the commission’s preparations for the state’s next general elections, urging registered voters in the impacted Polling Units to present on the designated date with their Permanent Voters Card (PVCs).
He further stated that the exercise has been scheduled for Saturday, February 4, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in all impacted Local Government Areas/Polling Units across the states.
Tella went on to say that the exercise would help to reassure people in the state about the resilience of the INEC system and boost the electoral process ahead of the state’s general elections.
“In the state, INEC has distributed about 402, 321 PVCs.
“More than 800,000 PVCs is yet to be collected at various 33 Local Government Area offices in the state.
“The essence of the Mock exercise is to conduct field tests across the three Senatorial District in the state employing twelve Polling Units at Oyo North, Oyo South, and Oyo Central District of the state.
“The Commission plans to deploy technology for the upcoming elections, including the use of BVAS for voter accreditation/verification and the posting of Polling Unit results through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) on election day.”