INEC denies plan to destroy six million unclaimed PVCs

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports that it plans to destroy over six million unclaimed Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).

The commission described the report as “incorrect,” maintaining that it never contemplated destroying uncollected PVCs.

In the said report, it was claimed that the commission is contemplating a policy to withdraw and destroy PVCs that remain uncollected for a decade.

The report said the recommendation was among 208 proposals arising from the commission’s review of the 2023 general elections.

It said 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.

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“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,” the report claimed.

However, INEC, in a statement on its X account on Sunday, advised the public to discountenance the story.