The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted there will not be another extension of the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) before the general elections.

The commission said it needs to move its staff away from the issuance of PVCs to other sectors that need attention ahead of the elections.

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, stated this on Thursday while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict programme.

“Unfortunately we are not going to extend the collection of PVCs. The periods we have extended are sufficient and we need to get right into the election and do some other things. If we don’t move our staff away from the issuance of PVCs, other sectors that we need to take care of will definitely not be taken care of,” Okoye said.

On the number of cards collected so far, the INEC National Commissioner said the electoral umpire does not have the complete details yet.

“We have informed all our electoral officers in all the local government of the federation and all the resident electoral commissioners to compile all the details of PVC collection based on each polling unit, based on each registration area, based on each local government, and also based on state specifics and forward immediately to INEC at the national headquarters to enable us to publish so that Nigerians will know the number of PVCs collected,” he added.

He also disclosed that the commission will gather uncollected PVCs and deposit them at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) until after the 2023 elections. (Channels TV)

•PHOTO:An official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sorts out Permanent Voters card (PVC) of voters at a ward in Lagos on January 12, 2023 ahead of February 25 presidential election. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)