INEC Lagos holds 116,745 uncollected PVCs from 2025 voter drive
- INEC in Lagos says 116,745 Permanent Voter Cards from the 2025 registration phase are still unclaimed.
- The commission received 177,295 cards for that phase and 60,550 have been picked up so far.
- Officials urge voters to collect their cards in person at local government offices before the 2027 elections.
About 116,745 people who registered in Lagos during the first phase of the 2025 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) have not picked up their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
The commission's Administrative Secretary in Lagos, Mrs Adenike Tadese, gave the figures in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday. She said INEC received 177,295 PVCs for that phase, and that its weekly update as of Monday showed 60,550 had been collected.
That leaves the 116,745 cards sitting in INEC offices across the state. For an ordinary Lagos resident, a PVC is the ticket to voting in the 2027 general elections — and to having a say in who governs the state and the country.
Where and how to collect
Tadese said the cards can be picked up at INEC's local government offices in Lagos. Owners must come in person; collection by proxy is not allowed.
"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.
She asked community leaders, political parties and other stakeholders to help spread the word, including to older registrants who have never picked up their cards. She warned that the collection window will close ahead of the elections.
Tadese also said cards for people who registered during the 2026 CVR exercise, before it ended, will soon be ready. She did not give a date.
What happens next
Voters who registered in 2025 can go to their local government INEC office now to check for their cards. Those who took part in the 2026 exercise should wait for the commission's announcement on when collection starts.
Tadese urged voters to stay orderly while collecting their cards. She also called on political actors to keep campaigns peaceful and follow the rules, saying INEC is preparing for free, fair and credible elections that stakeholders will accept.
