The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will begin on Friday, October 9, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections. A PVC is the card that identifies a registered voter. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced the date on Monday in Abuja at a workshop for editors organised with the Nigerian Guild of Editors. He said the National Register of Voters has now risen to more than 103 million.
Where the preparations stand (the 2027 timetable)
Amupitan said INEC has completed eight of the 14 major activities in its revised 2027 timetable, issued on February 26, 2026, and is working towards the ninth. He said the plan covers INEC’s headquarters, its 36 state offices, the Federal Capital Territory and all 774 local government areas.
He also said the public display of the preliminary register, where people could make claims and objections, has been completed. INEC has also finished the final clean-up of the register using its Automated Biometric Identification System, which checks fingerprints and other body data to remove duplicate names.
How many people are waiting for new cards (the registration drive)
The cards being issued come from the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which ran in three phases. The first phase, from August 25 to December 10, 2025, recorded 2,611,266 registrations. The second, from January 5 to April 17, 2026, recorded 4,121,835. INEC puts the total new registrations at 10,772,421, and says they are still subject to verification. One outlet gave the figure as “more than 10.6 million,” so the exact number is worth checking.
A card for you to collect, and rules to follow (what voters should know)
State offices have started to share details. In Oyo State, the Resident Electoral Commissioner said cards will be handed out at all 33 local government offices from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., on weekdays only, excluding public holidays. The exercise is for newly registered voters, people who transferred their polling units, and those whose cards were lost or damaged during the last CVR. These hours were announced by the Oyo office, so voters elsewhere should check with their own state offices.
The Oyo commissioner also said that collection must be done in person, and that no one can collect a card for another person. He added that many uncollected cards from the 2023 elections are still with INEC, and urged their owners to pick them up. INEC’s website also lets registered voters check the status of their cards and find their designated collection centres.
Look out for scammers (a warning from INEC)
Only days ago, INEC disowned a fake website claiming to offer a new online voter registration exercise. The commission said the real registration ended on July 26, 2026. Voters should not pay anyone to “help” them get a card, and should not give personal details to unofficial links.
Lessons from earlier cycles (what happened with cards in 2019 and 2023)
Collection has always been the hard part. Two days before the 2023 elections, INEC said 87,209,007 cards had been collected out of 93.47 million registered voters, which is 93.3 per cent. About 6,259,229 cards were still uncollected. In 2022, an INEC commissioner said more than 11 million cards printed around the 2019 elections had never been collected.
In January 2023, INEC extended the collection period twice because of reports from state offices. The second extension moved the end date from January 29 to February 5. INEC also moved collection from local government offices to 8,809 registration areas, or wards, for 10 days, so that people could collect closer to home. These steps show that collection can be improved when officials respond to what they see on the ground.
Distance, time and trust (what can hold people back)
Several things can keep people from collecting their cards. Many offices are far from where people live or work, and weekday hours can clash with jobs. Some people do not know that their cards are ready, or where to go. Others lose interest, or believe that technology now makes the physical card less important. The in-person rule also adds a hurdle for the sick, the elderly or people who work far from home.
There is also a worry about conduct. Amupitan told staff that how officials behave at local offices, registration centres and polling units will affect public confidence.
A bigger register, a bigger test (effects on the 2027 elections)
A register above 103 million is the largest the country has had. If most new voters collect their cards, turnout in 2027 could reflect the real size of the electorate. If many do not, the numbers on the register will not match the votes cast, and doubts about the process could grow.
The effects reach beyond INEC. Political parties will try to mobilise their supporters to collect cards, and civil society groups will watch for problems. For the country, a smooth exercise would help build trust in the vote before the campaign begins.
What would make collection smoother (possible solutions)
INEC can publish a clear list of collection points, hours and rules for every local government area, and share it widely on radio and social media. Where turnout is low, it can extend hours or bring collection closer to wards, as it did in 2023. It can give guidance for cases where a voter cannot appear in person for a genuine reason. It can also keep warning the public about fake websites and agents, and work with the police to track them.
Voters can help by checking their card status online, going early, bringing the information they used to register, and reporting any request for money at INEC offices. Traditional rulers, religious leaders and civil society groups can spread the message in their communities.
A card in hand is a voice in the polls (our reading of the exercise)
We welcome the date. A clear start gives voters something to plan around, and the chairman’s decision to link the exercise with the full timetable shows that INEC is thinking ahead.
But Nigerians have seen deadlines announced before. What matters is what happens in the local offices from Friday. Will the cards arrive? Will the staff be present and polite? Will voters get the same service in a village as in a city? We hope INEC will report the numbers openly each week, so the public can see progress and problems. A card is only a piece of plastic, but for millions of young and first-time voters it is the key to a voice in 2027.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
