The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to introduce downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for eligible voters who have lost or damaged their original cards, as part of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the downloadable PVC option will only be available to voters who had previously collected their physical PVCs but later lost or damaged them. He clarified that the initiative will not apply to first-time registrants or individuals who have never collected a physical voter card.
“It is not every PVC that is downloadable. You must have collected your PVC before, and it must be that the PVC is lost, defaced or the details on it have become unreadable,” he said.
He explained that affected voters would be required to submit a formal complaint at least 90 days before an election to enable the commission process the replacement.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC plans to pilot the downloadable PVC technology during the Osun State off-cycle governorship election scheduled for August.
The INEC chairman also revealed that the commission is finalising work on a new technology that will enable eligible Nigerians to complete voter registration entirely online without visiting INEC offices for physical biometric capture.
“We have also been working on technology that will make it possible for voter registration to be completed online without having to visit INEC local government offices or registration centres. Hopefully, in the next few days, we will begin testing it once the commission approves it,” he said.
He noted that the innovations are aimed at making voter registration and participation more accessible while reducing the feeling of disenfranchisement among eligible citizens.
However, Amupitan stressed that technology alone cannot guarantee credible elections without an informed and engaged electorate.
“We can procure the most sophisticated Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, optimise the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal to international standards and improve election logistics. But all these technological and administrative achievements will mean little if citizens remain detached, uninformed, cynical or unaware of the power of their votes,” he said.
The INEC chairman also raised concerns over the growing spread of misinformation and disinformation, describing them as major threats to Nigeria’s electoral process.
He dismissed allegations that the commission had warehoused more than 400,000 Permanent Voter Cards to favour a political party during the recent Ekiti State off-cycle governorship election.
“During the last election, a video circulated claiming that INEC had stored over 400,000 PVCs for distribution to a particular political party. However, thorough investigations revealed that the cards being shared were party membership cards, not PVCs,” he explained.
He warned that such false narratives discourage voter participation by creating the impression that election outcomes have already been manipulated.
According to him, “People who were prepared to vote began saying there was no need because their votes would not count. That is the danger of misinformation.”
Amupitan appealed to the NOA to strengthen voter education and public enlightenment, noting that the agency’s nationwide grassroots presence makes it well-positioned to counter false information and educate Nigerians on the electoral process.
He also highlighted several digital services already provided by INEC, including an application that allows voters to locate their polling units before election day, adding that greater public awareness is needed to ensure more citizens take advantage of such innovations.
