The Independent National Electoral Commission in Ondo State has disclosed that a total of 296,965 Permanent Voter Cards were yet to be collected in the state.
The commission noted that the previously printed PVCs uncollected were still available for collection by the rightful owners at the 18 local government INEC offices in the state.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr. Rufus Akeju, disclosed this while speaking with journalists at the commission’s headquarters office, in Akure, the state capital, on Wednesday.
He said, “The CVR (Continuous Voters Registration) exercise is now in its fourth phase which commenced on April 11 and will end on June 30, 2022. As of May 30, 2022, the registration figure stands at 123,981.
“A total of 21,749 PVCs were received by electorates in the state for the first and second phases of the CVR Exercise and are currently being distributed at our various Local Government Area Offices. Those who registered during these phases are to avail themselves of this opportunity to collect their PVCs.
“However, 296,965 previously printed PVCs uncollected are still available for collection by the rightful owners at the various Local Government INEC Offices,” he stressed.
The REC noted that the online pre-registration exercise had ended on May 30, 2022, and the registration exercise itself would come to an end on June 30, 2022. He called on eligible Nigerians who were 18 years and above and had not registered before to go out en masse and register since there would be no shift in the closing date.
He further stated that the CVR exercise also provided opportunities for transfer of voters card, replacement of lost and defaced permanent voters’ cards, and update of voters’ details, warning against double registration.
“We want to sound a note of warning that registering more than once is a criminal offence under the law punishable by a prison term of not more than 12 months or a fine of N500,000 or both. Section 12 subsections 2 and 3 of the Electoral Act. At the end of the CVR exercise, a nationwide Automatic Biometric Identification System will be run on all registrations and those who register more than once will be fished out, their names expunged from the voters register, and be prosecuted,” Akeju said.
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