INEC warns voters: "No PVC, no vote"

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised people who have registered for their permanent voter cards (PVCs) to collect them, saying, "no PVC, no vote."

INEC's resident electoral commissioner in Katsina State, Prof. Ibrahim Yahaya-Makarfi, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Katsina on Sunday.

According to him, the commission will not allow anyone to vote during the 2023 general elections without presenting his or her PVCs at polling centers.

He said that INEC suspended the continuous voter registration on July 31 because it was a process of recording and compiling the required details of the electorate.

Yahaya-Makarfi said that the exercise was carried out to allow all eligible Nigerians to register and collect their PVCs and to enable them to vote for candidates of their choice during the election.

He said: "Section 16(1) of the Electoral Act empowers the commission to register, print, and issue PVC to everyone whose name appears on the register of voters."

"It should be noted that PVC is a requirement for voting, as provided for in Section 47 of the Electoral Act of 2022.

"INEC will, as of December 12, commence issuance of PVCs." This will run through January 22, 2023, in all 34 local government areas of the state.

"Moreover, the commission also resolves to devolve PVC collection to the 361 registration areas from January 6 to January 15, 2023."

The REC called on all eligible and valid registrants to be at the various collection centers to collect their PVCs between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily, including Saturdays and Sundays, within the stipulated period.