Concern is mounting among Nigerians who participated in the latest Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise but are yet to receive their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), with the 2027 general elections only months away.
The development has triggered calls for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide a clear timetable for the production, distribution and collection of PVCs, particularly for first-time voters who registered during the recently concluded exercise. 
INEC recorded 10,399,288 completed voter registrations across the three phases of the CVR exercise conducted between August 2025 and July 2026. The figure includes more than 3.8 million registrations recorded during the final phase alone.
INEC had earlier explained that the registration figures would remain subject to verification and data cleaning, including the removal of multiple registrations and other invalid entries, before the final voters’ register is published.
The issue of PVC distribution has now become a growing concern as the electoral commission intensifies preparations for the 2027 polls.
According to INEC’s current official election calendar, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections will hold on February 6, 2027.
With the registration exercise already concluded, some new registrants say they are still waiting for information on when their PVCs will be ready and where they will be collected.
The concern has also attracted the attention of political stakeholders.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) recently urged INEC to publish a comprehensive nationwide timetable showing when newly registered voters would be able to collect their PVCs.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party called for greater transparency around the production and distribution process, arguing that Nigerians who successfully completed registration should know when and where their cards would be available.
The ADC specifically called for information to be made available on the number of newly registered voters, PVCs produced and distributed, outstanding cards and designated collection centres on a state-by-state basis.
The concern comes against the background of the importance of the PVC in the Nigerian electoral process. INEC’s voter information platform currently allows registered voters to check their registration status and locate their PVC collection centre.
INEC has also said the completed registration data must undergo further administrative processes before the final voters’ register is established. The commission’s CVR schedule shows that the final phase of registration ended in August 2026, followed by the display period for claims and objections.
For newly registered voters, however, the immediate concern is whether the production and distribution of their cards will be completed early enough to allow them to collect and verify their PVCs before election day.
The development has therefore placed renewed focus on INEC’s voter-management and logistics preparations ahead of what will be one of the country’s largest electoral exercises.
As preparations continue, stakeholders are urging the commission to communicate clearly with new registrants and ensure that eligible voters who successfully completed the registration process are not left uncertain about the status or collection of their PVCs.
For the millions who registered ahead of the 2027 elections, the next critical step is no longer registration—but receiving the voter card that will enable them to take part in the electoral process.
