INEC extends PVC collection deadline till February 11 amid complaints

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline of the collection of permanent voters' cards (PVC) till Monday, February 11, 2019.

This was announced by the commission's chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in a statement on Friday, February 8, the initial deadline of collection. The extended time also covers Saturday, February 9, and Sunday, February 10.

"The collection of PVCs will now take place from 9am to 6pm daily," the statement read.

Prof Yakubu also charged all INEC state offices to review the procedure for the collection of PVCs and dedicate all the staff of the Local Government offices to the collection process.

"The Commission wishes to reassure Nigerians that we will continue to take every necessary step to ensure that no registered voter is disenfranchised on account of non-collection of PVCs," he said.

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu Pulse Nigeria

Even though Yakubu had previously assured that the deadline of collection would be a week before the election, many Nigerians have complained about the unavailability of their cards despite registering months ago.

A lot of Nigerians took to social media to complain that their cards were not ready when they went to their respective INEC centres on Friday.

In response, Yakubu said urgent steps will be taken to solve the problem before the new Monday deadline.

He said, "Similarly, the Commission is taking urgent steps to address complaints of unavailability of the PVCs of some registered voters before the end the deadline for the collection.

"We wish to reiterate that after the deadline of Monday 11th February 2019, all uncollected PVCs will be recalled and deposited with the CBN for safe-keeping until after the General Elections when the collection of cards and the continuous registration of voters will resume."

2019 general elections

The 2019 general elections will kick off with the Presidential and National Assembly elections on February 16 while Governorship and State Assembly elections will take place on March 2.

A total of 84,004,084 are registered to vote in the elections.