The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has ruled out the prospect of extending the deadline for collecting Permanent Voter Cards, with just 14 days to the scheduled February 25 Presidential election.
Festus Okoye, the INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, stated on Channels TV’s “The 2023 Verdict” on Thursday that while INEC did not aim to deny any Nigerian the right to vote, the PVC collection time could not be prolonged.
Okoye said: “Unfortunately, this commission can no longer extend the period of collection of the PVCs, this is because we have just 15 days to go.
“Our staff who are in the local government (areas) and who are the issuance of these PVCs have to move back to what we call regular programming. They have to begin to receive the non-sensitive materials and match these non-sensitive materials in accordance with registration areas and wards and getting them ready for D-day.
Okoye added: “They have to also make arrangements for the places where we are going to house the ad-hoc staff overnight before they are deployed at the first light to the various polling units.
“They have to also inspect the various polling units to make sure that the polling units are fit for purpose and ready for the 2023 general election.
“So, we have so much to do and we need to get our staff ready for this exercise,” adding that the staff were also responsible for the “configuration of the BVAS” machines in readiness for the election.
The commissioner concluded by bemoaning the fact that some Nigerians won’t be opportune to vote, although he said it isn’t INEC’s fault, buttressing the fact that the electoral body has no intent of disenfranchising any Nigerian.
