The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that 116,745 Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, belonging to newly registered voters in Lagos State are yet to be collected by their owners.
The commission’s Administrative Secretary in Lagos, Mrs Adenike Tadese, made this known in an interview with newsmen on Friday.
Tadese said INEC had received a total of 177,295 PVCs for eligible residents who registered during the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise conducted in 2025.
She explained that the commission’s weekly records as of Monday indicated that 60,550 of the cards had been collected, leaving 116,745 awaiting collection at its offices across the state.
According to her, the large number of uncollected PVCs could affect participation in the 2027 general elections if their owners failed to retrieve them before the collection exercise ended.
She said registered voters could obtain their cards from INEC offices in their respective local government areas, stressing that collection must be done personally and not through representatives.
“The cards are available for collection by their owners, not by proxy, at the various local government offices of the commission in Lagos,” she said.
The INEC official called on relevant stakeholders to intensify efforts to encourage registered voters who had yet to collect their PVCs, including those enrolled during previous registration exercises and participants in the 2025 CVR programme.
She noted that the cards remained at the commission’s offices and urged their owners to collect them before the collection period closed ahead of the 2027 elections.
Tadese further revealed that PVCs for eligible residents who registered during the 2026 CVR exercise before its conclusion would soon be made available for collection.
She urged voters to maintain order and cooperate with officials during the collection process.
The administrative secretary reiterated INEC’s commitment to organising free, fair and credible elections that would earn the confidence and acceptance of stakeholders in Lagos State.
She also appealed to political parties, candidates and other electoral stakeholders to conduct peaceful campaigns and comply with established electoral guidelines to ensure a hitch-free build-up to the 2027 general elections.