The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed rumors about plans to destroy uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). A recent newspaper article claimed that INEC was considering the destruction of over six million PVCs, some dating back to 2015. However, INEC has stated that this report is false.
In a statement issued on Sunday, INEC reassured the public that no such plan to destroy uncollected PVCs exists. The commission urged citizens to ignore these misleading claims.
Earlier in December 2024, INEC suggested using computer-generated slips for voter accreditation during future elections. The introduction of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is expected to bring changes to how voters are identified on election day. As part of these changes, INEC plans to propose reforms to the national assembly soon.
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, INEC reported that over 87 million PVCs had been collected, meaning about 93.3% of registered voters had picked up their cards. However, there are still over 6.2 million uncollected PVCs, which represent 6.7% of the total PVCs.
