The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is facing difficulties getting millions of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) into the hands of eligible voters ahead of the 2027 general elections, with an estimated 14 million cards still awaiting collection.
Sponsored Ads
Investigations across several states indicate that although the latest Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise attracted more than 10.7 million new registrants, many produced PVCs remain unclaimed.
Sponsored Ads
The development raises concerns about voter participation in the elections, particularly as the presidential and National Assembly polls are scheduled for January 16, 2027.
INEC recorded 6.26 million uncollected PVCs before the 2023 general elections. However, the commission is yet to obtain complete collection figures from several states following the latest registration exercise.
States with substantial numbers of outstanding cards include Plateau, Taraba, Jigawa, Benue and Bayelsa.
In Plateau, about 95,000 PVCs from previous registration exercises remain uncollected, while Taraba has 29,314 outstanding cards. Jigawa has 33,079 cards awaiting collection, and Bayelsa reported 52,225 PVCs from the first phase of the recent registration exercise.
Taraba’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Sa’ad Umar Idris, said the outstanding cards comprised 13,826 PVCs from previous electoral cycles and 15,488 processed during the 2025–2026 registration exercise.
He explained that INEC processed 31,676 cards arising from new registrations, voter transfers and replacements, but only 16,188, representing about 51 per cent, had been collected.
Idris appealed to political parties, traditional rulers, religious leaders and civil society organisations to encourage eligible residents to visit INEC offices across the state’s local government areas.
In Plateau, the commission recorded 121,821 new voters, comprising 65,928 women and 55,893 men. The state REC, Prof. Samuel Egwu, also disclosed that INEC received 38,399 requests for voter transfers within and outside the state.
Jigawa recorded 515,878 additional voters across the three phases of the recent CVR exercise, bringing its registered voter population to 2,351,298.
Zamfara added 313,115 voters as of August 2026, increasing its register beyond the 1,952,060 recorded during the 2023 general elections.
Nasarawa’s voter population also rose to approximately 2.1 million following the registration of 247,000 additional voters between 2025 and July 2026.
RELATED STORIES
Related Posts
Sokoto recorded 2,633,113 registered voters, including 461,057 captured during the latest registration exercise. The figure represents 2.55 per cent of the national voter register, according to the commission’s Public Relations Officer, Hassan Kaoje.
In Kaduna, 61,494 PVCs had been collected as of October 28. The figure included 12,741 old cards and 48,753 newly issued cards.
Adamawa had 2,431,146 registered voters as of July 2026, with 49,304 PVCs collected by October 23.
Benue recorded 279,498 new registrants, bringing its total voter population to 3,057,225. During the display of the voters’ register between October 9 and 15, the commission recorded the collection of 58,581 PVCs, including new, transferred, replacement and previously unclaimed cards.
In Yobe, the voter population increased from 1,485,146 in 2022 to 1,768,671 in 2026, representing an addition of 283,525 voters. In Damaturu, 9,137 PVCs remained unclaimed after 11,911 had been collected.
Kano, which has the country’s second-largest voter population, is yet to compile its PVC collection figures across its 44 local government areas. The state has 6,570,276 registered voters, behind Lagos with 7,488,633.
In the South-West, Ogun recorded an increase of 348,703 voters, bringing its total to 3,037,008 as of October 2026. Ekiti’s voter population rose to 1,055,708, while Ondo recorded 2,053,061 registered voters, including 76,285 new registrants.
Ondo also reported that 1,771,326 PVCs had been collected, although the commission described the figures as preliminary.
Osun had 2,339,233 registered voters, with 1,906,390 PVCs collected as of August. The commission said the collection figure would be updated as more voters received their cards.
Lagos INEC officials said the state’s final register would only be available on December 15, 2026, after the completion of the claims and objections exercise. The commission had yet to release updated PVC collection figures for the state.
Meanwhile, INEC officials in Borno, Bauchi and Kebbi declined to provide updated voter registration and PVC collection statistics, describing the information as sensitive. The commission also failed to provide complete collection figures for Delta State.
With millions of cards still awaiting collection and several states yet to submit comprehensive statistics, INEC faces the task of intensifying its mobilisation efforts before the 2027 elections.
The commission has urged eligible voters who are yet to collect their PVCs to visit designated collection centres and obtain their cards to enable them to participate in the forthcoming polls.
Comments are closed.