The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2027 general elections will commence on October 9, 2026.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Kaduna during the commission’s North-West Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election.
The meeting forms part of INEC’s six-zone nationwide tour aimed at assessing the commission’s level of preparedness, identifying operational challenges and developing solutions ahead of the elections.
Amupitan said the commission was focused on closing operational gaps and ensuring that election officials at the grassroots level were adequately prepared for the 2027 polls.
He stressed that the success of an election depended significantly on activities carried out at Local Government Areas, Registration Area Centres and polling units, where electoral officials interact directly with voters.
“The true success of any election is not decided solely in the meeting rooms of our headquarters in Abuja. It is decided in the field,” he said.
The INEC chairman also directed officials to identify practical challenges affecting election administration in their respective areas and work with the commission’s headquarters to address them before election day.
He warned electoral officials against partisan conduct and administrative negligence, stressing that neutrality and professionalism would be important in maintaining public confidence in the electoral process.
According to Amupitan, the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to verification through INEC’s Automated Biometric Identification System.
He also called for the elimination of bottlenecks in PVC distribution at the Local Government Area level to ensure that eligible voters are able to collect their cards ahead of the election.
INEC is also reviewing its technological systems, including voter verification, result transmission and result management processes, as part of its preparations for the 2027 elections.
The commission is implementing what it described as a “Zero-Failure” approach to election logistics, covering the early deployment of materials, transportation, security coordination and training of ad-hoc personnel.
The 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
