Would you like to receive notifications on latest updates of the following headlines?

INEC May destroy 6million uncollected PVCs

POSTED ON December 27, 2024 •   Breaking News      BY Benedicta Bassey
Permanent Voter Cards

As Nigeria considers BVAS to streamline elections, debates arise over legislative hurdles, outdated voter registers, and uncollected PVCs. What are the implications for electoral reform?

The Independent National Electoral Commission may introduce a policy to retrieve and destroy Permanent Voter Cards that remain uncollected for a decade.

This may stem from the commission's review of the 2023 general elections and recommendation given.

The move stemmed from the persistent issue of unclaimed PVCs, with over six million cards still uncollected as of the 2023 elections, including many issued as far back as 2015.

Stakeholders in the post-election review recommended that INEC should address the bottleneck of uncollected PVCs by implementing a policy to withdraw PVCs that remain uncollected for extended periods, starting with cards issued in 2015.

The rationale is that these cards are unlikely to be claimed, and their retention clogs the voter management system.

According to INEC, “Following the publication of the Register of Voters, the commission made available the PVCs for collection by voters on December 12, 2022. The exercise was initially planned to end on the 22nd of January 2023. However, the fact that a huge number of registered voters had yet to collect their PVCs forced the commission to extend the deadline to the 5th of February 2023 after devolving the collection to the ward level between January 6-15, 2023 to ease the process.

“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.

“With support from the development partners, some of the CSOs also created information centres in selected states and the FCT to assist voters locate and collect their PVCs. Despite these efforts, over six million PVCs remained uncollected, many of them dating back to 2015.

"Consequently, one recommendation from the review was that the commission should consider withdrawing PVCs issued in 2015 since it is not clear if the owners will ever collect them,” INEC said.

Also, the commission proposed plans to modernise Nigeria’s electoral process, including the gradual phase-out of PVCs and the introduction of diaspora voting.

With the adoption of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, PVCs may no longer be necessary for voter accreditation. Instead, voters could use computer-generated slips or credentials downloaded from the commission’s website.

“Unlike the SCR, the voters’ register is now resident in the BVAS. The new device does not read and extract voters’ details from the PVC. Moreover, the Electoral Act 2022 has made biometric accreditation (fingerprint or facial) mandatory for voting.

“The utility of the PVC is now limited to voter identification. It is therefore possible to identify voters using their registration slips which obviates the need for PVCs, the cost of producing them, the logistics for their distribution and the fact that voters without them are unable to vote, thus raising serious issues of disenfranchisement. With the BVAS, voters can be identified using their registration slips otherwise known as the Temporary Voter’s Card and accredited biometrically without the need for a plastic PVC.

“However, such a step requires the amendment of Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 which makes the presentation of the card (PVC) to the PO at the PU mandatory before accreditation and voting,” the recommendation said.

Speaking on the issue, the National Legal Adviser of the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, said there was need to scarp the voters register, especially if it is confirmed that many of those registered have died.

He said, “I am sure most of those uncollected PVCs must have been as a result of irregularities in the process of registration and all that. If truly people register to vote and register as eligible electorate, they must have collected over a long period, after being given enough time.

“But I believe no system is perfect. So I think destroying them may be in order. If people have not collected over a long period, there is a likelihood those lapses were the result of some irregularities in the process of registration.”

READ ALSO
Tinubu to Discuss Sustainable Governance at BRICS Summit in Rio
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 29, 2025 0

President Bola Tinubu arrived in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia, on Saturday for the first leg of his two-p...

READ ALSO
Reps Launches Committee to Review CNG Policy Implementation
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 27, 2025 0

The House of Representatives has formed an ad-hoc committee tasked with examining the Federal Govern...

READ ALSO
Nigeria Takes Bold Step towards Energy Independence with Naira-Based Crude Sales Initiative
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 25, 2025 0

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, alongside the Federal Government’s One-Stop-Sho...

READ ALSO
IPMAN Links Rising Petrol Prices to Crude Oil Costs and Market Dynamics
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 24, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria (NAN) - The Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Associati...

READ ALSO
Tinubu Launches National Mechanised Farming Programme to Tackle Food Insecurity
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 23, 2025 0

In a bid to combat food insecurity and encourage youth participation in farming, President Bola Tinu...

READ ALSO
Oil Prices Surge Amid U.S. Airstrikes on Iran's Nuclear Sites
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 23, 2025 0

Oil prices rose on Monday while the dollar gained strength following the U.S. airstrikes on Iran's n...

READ ALSO
FG Coordinates Evacuation Plans for Citizens in Iran-  Minister
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 22, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has refuted false narrati...

READ ALSO
Governors, FG Unite to Tackle Food Security Challenges
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 20, 2025 0

The 36 state governors have come together to collaborate with the Federal Government on harmonizing...

OUR CHANNELS:

Reclaiming Gaddafi’s Pan-African Dream: Why His Vision Still Matters
BY Suleiman Jimoh July 2, 2025 0

Few remember that Muammar Gaddafi once dared to imagine an Africa unchained from foreign dictate. He...


Calls for Autopsy: Ondo Govt. Faces Pressure to Exhume Late Governor Akeredolu's Body
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 1, 2025 0

The Ondo State Government may need to exhume the body of the late governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, f...


Dangote Slash Petrol Price to N840 per Litre Amid Market Adjustments
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 2, 2025 0

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has lowered the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, commonly refe...


NEC Reinstates Anyanwu as PDP National Secretary Amid Internal Conflicts
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 1, 2025 0

The 100th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the People’s Democratic Party (...


APC Schedules NEC Meeting for July 24 Amid Leadership Changes
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 1, 2025 0

ABUJA, Nigeria - The All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled its National Executive Committee...


PDP: Tensions Rise Ahead of 100th NEC Meeting Amid Factional Disputes
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 1, 2025 0

As tensions escalate within the People’s Democratic Party regarding the National Secretary pos...


Sokoto,Kebbi PDP Ready to Join Coalition Against APC in 2027
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 1, 2025 0

The state branches of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto and Kebbi have expressed t...


UNIUYO Medical Lecturers Begin Indefinite Strike over VC appointment
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara June 30, 2025 0

Medical lecturers at the University of Uyo, affiliated with the Medical and Dental Consultants Assoc...


Nigeria and Saint Lucia Unite for Mutual Growth
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 1, 2025 0

President Bola Tinubu and Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre agreed on Sunday to establish formal diplo...


Tinubu Empowers ICRC to Streamline PPP Processes
BY Abiodun Saheed Omodara July 2, 2025 0

President Bola Tinubu has authorized the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to e...


More Articles

Load more...

Menu