The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will commence the nationwide collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) on Friday, October 9, 2026, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced 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 in Abuja.
The announcement comes as Nigeria’s National Register of Voters has risen to more than 103 million, according to the commission.
Amupitan said INEC’s three-phase Continuous Voter Registration exercise attracted more than 10.6 million new applicants.
He added that the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections had been completed, while the commission had also concluded the final Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup of the register.
According to the INEC chairman, the commencement of PVC collection is particularly important as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
He said the commission was working to ensure that the electoral process remained transparent, technology-driven and credible.
Amupitan said INEC remained committed to improving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the INEC Result Viewing Portal “to ensure that every valid vote counts and is seen to count.”
He also identified public trust as a key factor in 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 urged newsrooms to establish digital fact-verification desks and pledged that INEC would provide editors with direct access to verify field incidents, logistical developments and security reports in real time.
He also 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 the Voter Education and Publicity Department, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, identified misinformation and disinformation as major factors contributing to declining citizen participation.
She urged media organisations to support INEC by ensuring that accurate and timely information reached citizens, particularly as the commission prepares to begin nationwide PVC collection.
INEC seeks 24-hour fact-checking mechanism
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Adedayo Oketola, said the strategic workshop had 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, he said, was to combat information disorder and strengthen fact verification.
Oketola 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 as the 2027 elections approached and PVC collection was set to begin.
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 call on editors to verify information rigorously, beware of deepfakes and avoid publishing unofficial 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, said the workshop was 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 the institutions conducting elections would act 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.
