Esther Salifu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has categorically refuted reports that it plans to destroy over six million unclaimed Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs). The commission described the report as “incorrect” and maintained that it never contemplated destroying uncollected PVCs .
The report in question claimed that INEC was considering a policy to withdraw and destroy PVCs that remain uncollected for a decade. This recommendation was allegedly part of 208 proposals arising from the commission’s review of the 2023 general elections. However, INEC has advised the public to disregard the story.
“The low rate of PVC collection and other related challenges are illustrative of the problem of processing and managing voters in Nigeria. To increase the rate of collection of PVCs, the commission implemented a policy that made it possible for voters to locate their PVCs online and subsequently pick them up. Several CSOs supported the commission’s drive to increase PVC collection by working with INEC’s state/FCT offices to record all uncollected PVCs and to inform their owners where and how to collect them,” the report claimed.
It’s worth noting that the issue of unclaimed PVCs has been a persistent challenge for INEC. As of the 2023 elections, over six million cards remained uncollected, including many issued as far back as 2015. To address this, INEC made PVCs available for collection on December 12, 2022, and even extended the deadline to February 5, 2023, to ease the process.
INEC also implemented a policy allowing voters to locate their PVCs online and pick them up, with support from civil society organizations (CSOs). Despite these efforts, the report highlighted the challenges of processing and managing voters in Nigeria.
