Nigerians rush to collect voter cards with election weeks away

Nigerians were racing against time on Wednesday as the final deadline for the collection of their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) edged closer ahead of presidential and national assembly elections.

The PVC acts as identification to vote in the upcoming general elections.

Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, released a window in December for the last phase of collection of the cards before the elections.

The INEC said there was a surge of young Nigerians seeking to register for their voter cards ahead of the elections.

It also issued a statement saying that this round of PVC collections would end on January 22 and eligible voters without their cards would not be allowed to vote in the upcoming poll.

In December, electoral officials expressed concerns about millions of uncollected voter cards across the country.

The INEC had reported that over six million Nigerians were yet to receive their cards.

Some Nigerians have criticised the INEC over how it has handled the distribution of the cards.

Nigerian lawyer Damilola Adelowo said she received an email informing her that her card was ready for collection but after two hours of queuing she was told it was "omitted."

Presidential and national assembly elections in Africa's most populous country are scheduled for February 25.

Governorship and state assembly elections are set to be held on March 11.