INEC Announces Date for Nationwide Collection of PVCs

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced October 9, 2026, as the date for the nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Kaduna during the North-West Zonal Interactive Meeting with staff and a readiness assessment for the 2027 elections.

Amupitan said the recent voter registration exercise recorded more than 10.7 million new registrations across the country. He said the commission was working to ensure that newly registered voters and other eligible citizens could obtain their PVCs without unnecessary difficulties.

The INEC chairman called for the removal of bottlenecks affecting the distribution of PVCs at the Local Government Area level. He said delays or difficulties in accessing the cards could prevent eligible citizens from taking part in the electoral process.

He also disclosed that the commission was improving its technological systems ahead of the 2027 elections. The upgrades cover voter verification, result transmission and the Result Management Systems used for processing and managing election results.

According to him, INEC is also strengthening the recently introduced eEC8A system as part of efforts to improve the management and transmission of election results.

Amupitan further said the commission had adopted what he described as a “Zero-Failure” approach to election logistics. The strategy covers the early deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive election materials, transportation and movement of personnel and materials, security coordination and the training of ad-hoc election staff.

The announcement comes as INEC continues preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the commission working on voter registration records, PVC distribution, technology systems, logistics and personnel readiness.

The nationwide PVC collection exercise is expected to give the more than 10.7 million newly registered voters an opportunity to obtain their cards before the elections.