Commission says 81.5% of registered voters have collected their PVCs as security agencies intensify preparations.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that 1,906,390 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been collected ahead of Saturday’s Osun State governorship election.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, saying the figure represents 81.50 per cent of the 2,339,233 registered voters in the state.
According to the commission, 426,842 uncollected PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent of registered voters, have been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in line with its established procedure.
INEC also disclosed that 6,101 voters who applied to replace damaged, defaced or lost PVCs printed downloadable copies of their cards.
The commission said it had published a polling-unit-by-polling-unit breakdown of collected PVCs on its website as part of efforts to promote transparency.
Meanwhile, security agencies have intensified preparations across the state ahead of the August 15 election. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Commandant-General, Abubakar Audi, visited the INEC office in Osun as part of efforts to strengthen election security coordination.
The Nigeria Police Force has also deployed thousands of personnel across the state’s 30 local government areas. Police sources said at least four officers would be assigned to each of the 3,673 polling units, excluding personnel from other security agencies.
INEC assured political parties, civil society organisations, the media and voters of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive election.