Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has urged eligible voters to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed that nationwide collection will begin on Friday, 9 October 2026.
In a post on X on Tuesday, the governor wrote: “INEC has confirmed that Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) collection commences on 9 October 2026. Please get your PVC so that you can participate in the 2027 election.”
The appeal follows a formal announcement by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, that collection of newly printed cards will start on 9 October ahead of the 2027 general elections. He restated the date on Monday at a strategic workshop for media executives in Abuja, organised by the commission with Development Alternatives Incorporated and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
Professor Amupitan said the national register of voters has risen to more than 103 million after three phases of Continuous Voter Registration. Those phases produced 10,772,421 new applications: 2,611,266 between 25 August and 10 December 2025; 4,121,835 between 5 January and 17 April 2026; and 3,867,997 between 11 May and 26 July 2026. The figures remain subject to final screening through the Automated Biometric Identification System. The commission has completed the public display of the preliminary register for claims and objections and the biometric clean-up of the register.
In Oyo State, Resident Electoral Commissioner Professor Adeniran Tella has said distribution will take place across all 33 INEC local government offices from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm daily, excluding weekends and public holidays. The exercise covers newly registered voters, those who have transferred their polling units, and those whose cards were lost or damaged during the last registration exercise. Collection is strictly personal and will not be allowed by proxy. The commission said it has made arrangements with security agencies to keep the exercise orderly.
Professor Tella also noted that a substantial number of PVCs from the 2023 general election remain uncollected in the state, and urged residents to use the current window.
Nationwide, cards from the first phase of registration have already been processed and delivered to local government collection centres. Voters are expected to present their temporary registration slips and may check their status and collection points through INEC’s official voter portal.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for 16 January 2027, with the governorship and State House of Assembly polls set for 6 February 2027. INEC has said the early start to PVC collection is intended to reduce bottlenecks at local government offices and to limit the risk that eligible voters are disenfranchised by logistics.
Professor Amupitan has asked traditional rulers, the media and political stakeholders to encourage prompt collection, and has warned commission staff against late opening of centres, perceived bias and poor handling of technical faults, which he said can feed misinformation.
By A.Ikechukwu
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