INEC Announces October 9 Start Date for Nationwide PVC Collection

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will commence on Friday, October 9, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday at a strategic workshop for media executives organised by the commission in collaboration with Development Alternatives Incorporated and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Abuja.

The announcement came as INEC disclosed that Nigeria’s National Register of Voters had risen to more than 103 million.

Amupitan said the commission’s three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise had attracted more than 10.6 million new applicants.

He added that INEC had completed the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections, as well as the final Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup of the voter register.

According to the INEC chairman, the commencement of PVC collection was particularly important as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.

He said the commission was working to make the electoral process more transparent, technology-driven and credible.

Amupitan also said INEC remained committed to continuously improving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) “to ensure that every valid vote counts and is seen to count.”

He identified public trust as a critical factor in maintaining electoral credibility.

“The ultimate arbiter of electoral integrity is public trust,” Amupitan said.

The INEC chairman called for stronger collaboration between the commission, media organisations, civil society groups and other stakeholders.

He said INEC was prepared to listen to editorial concerns, address operational challenges and provide timely information to prevent misinformation from filling communication gaps.

Amupitan also urged newsrooms to establish digital fact-verification desks, promising that INEC would provide editors with direct access to verify field incidents, logistical developments and security reports in real time.

He further proposed a sustained editorial feedback mechanism between INEC and the Nigerian Guild of Editors to review operational progress and address emerging challenges throughout the 2027 election cycle.

INEC Urges Media to Provide Accurate PVC Information

The Director of Voter Education and Publicity Department, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, identified misinformation and disinformation as major factors contributing to declining citizen participation in elections.

She urged media organisations to support the commission by ensuring that accurate and timely information reaches citizens, particularly as PVC collection is set to begin.

INEC Seeks 24-Hour Fact-Checking Mechanism

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, said the strategic workshop was designed around three broad objectives.

He said the first was to rebuild institutional trust through open dialogue by establishing a transparent two-way communication channel between INEC leadership and media gatekeepers.

The second objective, according to Oketola, was to combat information disorder and strengthen fact verification.

He said the commission wanted to establish “seamless 24-hour fact-verification loops between newsrooms and INEC so that speed would not come at the expense of accuracy.”

The third objective was to promote shared democratic responsibility among the media, civil society and electoral institutions through ethical gatekeeping, conflict-sensitive reporting and civic enlightenment.

‘Verification Is a Two-Way Street’

The Executive Director of the Centre for Media and Society, Dr Akin Akingbulu, said Nigeria was at a critical point in its democratic journey with the 2027 elections approaching and PVC collection scheduled to begin within days.

He said electoral information was already shaping public discourse across newspapers, radio, television and digital platforms.

Akingbulu said editors were not defined merely by their positions but by the responsibility they carried as stewards of the electoral information ecosystem.

Referring to an earlier charge to editors to rigorously verify information, beware of deepfakes and avoid publishing unofficial election results, he said, “Verification is a two-way street.”

He added, “Verify before you amplify.”

NGE Urges Balanced Election Reporting

The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr Eze Anaba, described the workshop as timely given the country’s proximity to another general election.

Anaba said elections were not merely about casting ballots but also about citizens having confidence that their votes would count and that electoral institutions would conduct the process fairly and professionally.

He urged editors to uphold accuracy, fairness, balance and public interest in electoral reporting, while calling for stronger access to credible and timely information from INEC.