Haruna stated that the uncollected PVCs had been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Out of the total of 2,339,233 registered voters in the state, 1,906,390 PVCs, representing 81.50 per cent, have been collected.

“The remaining 426,842 PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent, have been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria in line with the Commission’s established practice,” he said.

According to him, 6,101 persons who applied for replacement of damaged, defaced or lost PVCs printed downloadable copies of their cards.

The INEC senior official further said that a polling-unit-by-polling-unit table of the PVCs collected had been published on its website.

He reassured political parties, civil society organisations, the media and residents of the state of its readiness to conduct the election scheduled for Saturday, August 15.

According to the statement, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to include the PDP logo on the ballot for the August 15 election.

The party said the court upheld the nomination after ruling that the PDP had conducted its governorship primary, which was monitored by INEC, and forwarded the winner’s name to the commission.

“The panel of the Court held that the party having duly conducted primaries which were monitored by INEC, and the name of the winner forwarded to the commission, there was no legal impediment to the participation of the candidate in the elections,” the statement said.

The PDP said the court also ruled that the access code required for nomination on INEC’s portal was an administrative requirement which could not override the statutory requirement of submitting candidates’ names to the commission.

However, the party said it decided to support Adeleke of the Accord Party because of the limited time available for its candidate to campaign before Saturday’s election.

“To this end, faced with the unimaginable difficulty that this situation puts on us, the Interim National Working Committee has chosen not to throw its hands up in defeat,” the statement said.

The PDP said the decision followed consultations with key stakeholders and consideration that Adeleke was a former member of the party.

“We therefore ask all our members to vote for Governor Adeleke,” the statement added.

The party also urged its members to participate in the election, defend their votes and ensure that their votes count.

The PDP, however, accused INEC of bias and alleged that the commission had failed to recognise its candidate despite monitoring the primary that produced him.

The party said the situation had left its candidate without enough time to campaign for the election.

The PDP further called on Nigerians to reject violence and ensure that the outcome of the election reflects the wishes of voters.

“Elections must be a true reflection of the people’s wish, freely expressed through the ballot. Anything short of that is robbery and must not be allowed to stand,” the party stated.