4.6 Million PVCs Collected For Saturday By-Elections — INEC

Ahead of the anticipated February 3 rerun and by-elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that a total of 4,613,197 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have been collected by voters.

This crucial update was revealed in a document published by INEC on its official social media handle.

According to Naija News, which gathered details from the INEC release, there has been a considerable turnout for PVC collection, with 2,189,171 PVCs collected for the by-elections and 2,424,026 for the rerun elections.

This high number of PVC collections indicates a potentially strong voter turnout for the upcoming elections.

INEC has also outlined its logistical preparations for the elections.

The commission plans to deploy no fewer than 8,500 Bimodal Voters Authentication System (BVAS) units for the polls.

Additionally, over 35,000 ad-hoc staff will be engaged to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections.

In a further commitment to transparency and credibility, INEC has accredited 74 domestic observers and one international observer to monitor the February 3 elections.

This move is expected to add an extra layer of oversight and accountability to the electoral process.

By-elections will be conducted in two senatorial districts; (Ebonyi South, Ebonyi State and Yobe East, Yobe State); three state constituencies, (Chibok State Constituency, Borno State; Chikun State constituency, Kaduna State; and Guma State Constituency, Benue State); and four federal constituencies, (Akoko North East/Akoko North-West Federal Constituency, Ondo State; Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency, Taraba State; Surulere 1 Federal Constituency, Lagos State; and Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency, Kebbi State.)

The court-ordered rerun elections will be held in one Senatorial district of Plateau Central, and 13 federal constituencies.

The Federal constituencies include Surulere 1 (Lagos), Gauri/Shanta/Ingaski and Arewa/Dandi (Kebbi), Akoko North East/North West (Ondo), Jalingo/Yorro/Zing (Taraba), Ikono/Ini (Akwa Ibom); Akamkpa/Biase (Cross River State); and Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency of (Sokoto State).

Others are Nnewi North/Nnewi South and Orumba North/Orumba South (Anambra), Igbo Eze North/Udenu (Enugu), Birnin Kudu/Buji (Jigawa), Igabi and Kachia/Kagarko (Kaduna), Faskari/Kankara/Sabuwa (Katsina), Jos North/Bases (Plateau) and Fine/Fune (Yobe).

Rerun elections would be held in the following state constituencies, (Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Sokoto, and Zamfara.)