The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reaffirmed that Nigerians will not be allowed to cast their votes in the 2027 general elections without their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), despite the advanced capabilities of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
This clarification comes in response to recent debates from the commission’s post-2023 election review sessions, where some stakeholders had suggested that BVAS, which uses biometric data for accreditation, could make it possible for voters to present alternative forms of identification on election day.
Speaking with journalists on Saturday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, explained that the commission cannot bypass existing laws. He noted that while BVAS has significantly strengthened the accreditation process, Section 47 of the Electoral Act 2022 clearly requires voters to present their PVCs at polling units.
“INEC is aware of the recommendations, but the law makes the PVC a compulsory document for voting. Until there’s an amendment to the Electoral Act, the rule remains unchanged,” Oyekanmi said.
INEC’s position comes at a time when millions of voter cards are still uncollected nationwide. Data released in August shows that 5,965,451 PVCs remain in the commission’s offices across the country. Lagos leads with 845,225 unclaimed cards, followed by Oyo with 515,254 and Ogun with 410,281. Other states with high backlogs include Rivers (251,418), Delta (232,183), and Osun (360,794).
The backlog has been a source of worry as uncollected PVCs risk disenfranchising eligible voters. To address this, INEC reopened the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in August. The online registration phase commenced on the 18th, while physical registration began on the 25th. The CVR also allows those who registered previously but never collected their cards to claim them ahead of the 2027 elections.
While stakeholders push for reforms to ease voter identification, INEC maintains that any change must come through legislative amendments, not administrative discretion.
