By TINA TIMOTHY

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that between October 17 to October 21, 2024, 55,859 cards have been collected by voters ahead of the governorship election in Ondo State which represented 62.2% of the 89,777 cards available for collection, ?the highest percentage of PVCs collected in five days in Ondo State since the Commission introduced the CVR in 2015.?

INEC National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun mni, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, October 22.

?Over a period of five days (17-21 October 2024), the Commission made the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) from the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Ondo State available for collection in all the 203 Wards across the State.

?The Commission is pleased to announce that at the end of the five-day period, 55,859 cards were personally collected by new registrants as well as applicants for transfer and replacement of lost or damaged cards as provided by law. This figure represents 62.2% of the 89,777 cards available for collection.

?This is the highest percentage of PVCs collected in five days in Ondo State since the Commission introduced the CVR in 2015.

?A detailed breakdown of the collection by Local Government Areas (LGAs) has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information,? he stated.

Olumekun further assured that INEC has extended the collection exercise to its 18 LGA offices in the state from Wednesday 23rd to Tuesday 29th October from 9.00am to 5.00pm daily (including the weekend) and urged the remaining voters to pick up their PVCs.

?Meanwhile, the collection will resume in our 18 LGA offices in Ondo State from tomorrow Wednesday 23rd to Tuesday 29th October 2024 from 9.00am to 5.00pm daily (including the weekend). Detailed information on the locations of our LGA offices in the State is already available on our website.

?We appeal to the remaining voters to pick up their PVCs in person from our LGA offices. The Commission reiterates its policy that no cards will be collected by proxy," he added.