The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the collection of newly issued Permanent Voter Cards will commence on October 9, 2026, nationwide. This move is part of preparations for the 2027 General Election. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash O. Amupitan, made this disclosure during the Commission’s North-West Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 elections in Kaduna.
The PVC collection follows three phases of Continuous Voter Registration conducted by INEC, which resulted in 10,772,421 new registrations. These registrations are subject to verification through the Automated Biometric Identification System. Amupitan directed INEC officials to address operational gaps and eliminate bottlenecks that could prevent eligible Nigerians from collecting their PVCs, particularly at the Local Government Area level.
The exercise is part of a six-zone national tour designed to assess INEC’s preparedness, identify challenges confronting its field operations, and develop solutions ahead of the 2027 polls. Amupitan stressed that the credibility of the election would depend largely on the effectiveness of INEC personnel operating at the grassroots. He emphasized that the true success of any election is not decided solely in the meeting rooms of INEC's headquarters in Abuja but in the field.
Amupitan urged staff to use the zonal engagement to identify practical challenges in their respective areas and work with the Commission’s headquarters to resolve them before election day. He also warned electoral officials against partisan conduct and administrative negligence, saying neutrality and professionalism would be crucial to sustaining public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC is drawing lessons from recent elections while strengthening its systems for the larger national assignment in 2027. Amupitan disclosed that the Commission was refining its technological systems, including voter verification, result transmission, and Result Management Systems, with the recently introduced eEC8A among the systems being developed.
The INEC chairman also mentioned that the Commission was adopting a “Zero-Failure” approach to election logistics, covering the early deployment of materials, transportation, security coordination, and training of ad-hoc personnel. Earlier, the Supervising National Commissioner for Kaduna, Mallam Kudu Haruna, said the zonal meetings were designed to enable INEC’s leadership to engage directly with personnel across the country despite the limited time remaining before the 2027 elections.
The zonal exercise aims to assess the level of preparedness across states and identify operational challenges requiring attention before the elections. It also ensures that INEC personnel remain aligned with the Commission’s Code of Conduct as preparations intensify. Key departments presented updates on their respective areas, including Voter Education and Publicity, Voter Registry, ICT, Human Resources, and Election and Operations.
Key points
- INEC sets October 9, 2026, for PVC collection nationwide ahead of 2027 General Election
- 10,772,421 new voter registrations were recorded in three phases of Continuous Voter Registration
- INEC adopts a "Zero-Failure" approach to election logistics for 2027 polls
