The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will begin the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday, ahead of the Feb. 21 Area Council Election.
The commission said that 128,396 PVCs would be distributed to the owners physically and not by proxy.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the FCT, Malam Aminu Kasimu Idris, disclosed this during a news conference on the commission’s preparations for the FCT council election in Abuja on Tuesday.
Idris said that the PVC collection would be done from Thursday, Jan. 22 to Jan. 26, between 9:00am and 3:00pm daily, across all 62 Registration Areas (wards) in the six area councils of the FCT.
The REC added that collection would continue thereafter at the INEC area council offices.
Idris explained that the PVCs available for collection included cards for newly registered voters, those who transferred their registration within or into the FCT.
Others, according to him, include voters who requested replacement for lost or defaced PVCs, as well as cards from previous registration exercises yet to be collected.
He reiterated that the PVC remained the only valid document for voter accreditation, in line with Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended).
On voter registration figures, the REC disclosed that following the suspension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the FCT on Oct. 12, 2025, a total of 106,855 persons registered as new voters.
He said that after the deduplication exercise, 102,307 valid new voters were added to the register, bringing the total number of registered voters in the FCT to 1,680,315, compared to 1,570,307 recorded during the 2023 general election.
He also revealed that the FCT recorded 8,476 transfers into the territory and 775 transfers out.
On the Commission’s preparedness, Idris assured FCT residents that INEC had made significant progress in line with its timetable and schedule of activities.
He listed achievements already recorded to include the monitoring of party primaries and resolution of disputes, publication of final lists of nominated candidates, monitoring of political campaigns, receipt and batching of non-sensitive election materials.
Others include the activation of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, and the accreditation of observers, media organisations, polling agents and ad-hoc election personnel.
He added that INEC had intensified voter education and sensitisation activities, published the final register of voters for the election.
The REC also said that the commission had strengthened collaboration with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
Idris also said that the commission had commenced the training of election security personnel, and initiated engagements with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to ensure seamless logistics for election day.
The REC noted that the commission remained mindful of the unique responsibility of conducting elections in the FCT, given its population size, terrain and security considerations.
Idris said that all the factors had been adequately integrated into INEC’s operational planning.
He called on the media to continue to partner with the commission by amplifying accurate information, countering misinformation, and encouraging eligible voters to collect their PVCs promptly.
Idris reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, inclusive and credible election in strict compliance with the Electoral Act.
