News
Over Six Million Uncollected PVCs To Be Destroyed By INEC In New Policy Recommendation
…political parties differ on Implementation
The Independent National Electoral Commission is contemplating a policy to withdraw and destroy Permanent Voter Cards that remain uncollected for a decade.
This recommendation was among 208 proposals arising from the commission’s review of the 2023 general elections.
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.
Stakeholders in the post-election review recommended that INEC address the backlog of uncollected PVCs by implementing a policy to withdraw PVCs that remain uncollected for extended periods, starting with cards issued in 2015.
The rationale is that these cards are unlikely to be claimed, and their retention clogs the voter management system.
“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.
“With support from the development partners, some of the CSOs also created information centres in selected states and the FCT to assist voters locate and collect their PVCs. Despite these efforts, over six million PVCs remained uncollected, many of them dating back to 2015.
Consequently, one recommendation from the review was that the commission should consider withdrawing PVCs issued in 2015 since it is not clear if the owners will ever collect them,” INEC said.
Also, the commission proposed plans to modernise Nigeria’s electoral process, including the gradual phase-out of PVCs and the introduction of diaspora voting.
It was explained that with the adoption of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, PVCs may no longer be necessary for voter accreditation. Instead, voters could use computer-generated slips or credentials downloaded from the commission’s website.
“Unlike the SCR, the voters’ register is now resident in the BVAS. The new device does not read and extract voters’ details from the PVC. Moreover, the Electoral Act 2022 has made biometric accreditation (fingerprint or facial) mandatory for voting.
“The utility of the PVC is now limited to voter identification. It is therefore possible to identify voters using their registration slips which obviates the need for PVCs, the cost of producing them, the logistics for their distribution and the fact that voters without them are unable to vote, thus raising serious issues of disenfranchisement. With the BVAS, voters can be identified using their registration slips otherwise known as the Temporary Voter’s Card and accredited biometrically without the need for a plastic PVC.
“However, such a step requires the amendment of Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 which makes the presentation of the card (PVC) to the PO at the PU mandatory before accreditation and voting,” the recommendation said.
Political parties in the country hold differing opinions about INEC’s plan to destroy uncollected PVCs.
In an interview, the National Legal Adviser of the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, believed that the initiative was in order, stressing that there was a need to declutter the voters register, especially if it is confirmed that many of those registered have died.
He said, “I am sure most of those uncollected PVCs must have been as a result of irregularities in the process of registration and all that. If truly people register to vote and register as eligible electorate, they must have collected over a long period, after being given enough time.
“But I believe no system is perfect. So I think destroying them may be in order. If people have not collected over a long period, there is a likelihood those lapses were the result of some irregularities in the process of registration.”
But the Peoples Democratic Party raised a concern that destroying uncollected PVCs could be another ploy by INEC to distract Nigerians.
The PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, who spoke to journalists said INEC had given Nigerians enough reasons to be suspicious.
He asserted that people refused to collect the PVCs because they had lost faith in INEC to make their votes count during elections.
Osadolor said, “How do you contemplate destroying cards produced with billions of taxpayers’ money because INEC has failed the credibility and integrity test that has made millions of Nigerians lose faith in the commission’s ability to organise free, fair and credible elections?
“I urge INEC to, as a matter of immediate action, begin an image laundering and rebranding campaign to convince Nigerians and stakeholders that the commission is ready to be truly independent in spelling, actions and character.”
Also, the New Nigeria People’s Party advised INEC to reconsider the plan to destroy PVCs.
The National Publicity Secretary of the NNPP, Ladipo Johnson, said destroying over six million voter cards would amount to sheer waste of money.
He said, “If people register and haven’t come to collect over a long period of time unless they know those people have passed on, I think the cards should not be destroyed as long as they are in safekeeping.
“If you destroy about six million PVCs, and all of a sudden, some of the owners show up and want to vote, it will cost God-knows-how-much to register them again. It’s a waste of money.”
However, some Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who spoke to newsmen backed INEC to destroy the uncollected PVCs, asserting that there are no legal impediments.
A former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said some of the uncollected PVCs were likely products of double registration.
“They (uncollected PVCs) are taking space. My suspicion is that the owners don’t exist. It is double fraudulent registration by a lot of people. Just as I am sure that we are not up to 200 million neither do I believe that we are up to 90 million registered voters when only 20 percent of that is always voting. There is a lot of fake information and fake facts in this country and I’m sure this is part of it. So, let them destroy the uncollected PVCs,” he said.
The Nigerian Defence Academy has released the list of successful and reserve candidates for admission into the 78 Regular Combatant Course.
The Academy said the Armed Forces Selection Board exercise for the 78 Regular Course was conducted between July 4 and August 19, 2026, after which successful candidates were offered admission.
According to a statement issued by the Academy Registrar, Brigadier General OA Ogunleye, successful candidates are required to report to the NDA Ribadu Campus (Old Site), Kaduna, on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
The Academy warned that candidates who fail to report by Monday, September 14, 2026, will forfeit their admission.
It said only candidates who were offered admission are expected to report, adding that they would be received at the Drill Shed, NDA Old Site, Ribadu Cantonment.
Candidates on the reserve list, according to the Academy, may be offered admission as vacancies arise. Such candidates will be contacted through their registered email addresses and telephone numbers.
Successful candidates have been directed to report with the original copies of their credentials, including their First School Leaving Certificate, Primary School Testimonial, WAEC or NECO results, Senior Secondary School Testimonial, Birth Certificate or Declaration of Age, and Letter of State of Origin.
They are also required to present the original, duly endorsed Parent/Guardian Consent Form. The Academy stressed that photocopies of the required documents would not be accepted.
“Any candidate who fails to present originals of the stated documents will not be accepted into the Academy,” the notice stated.
In addition to their academic and personal documents, candidates are expected to come with specified clothing, footwear, sportswear, bedding and other personal items.
The required items include black and white trousers, a dark-coloured lounge suit, national dress, black cover shoes, white and brown canvas shoes, football boots, a hockey stick, white shirts, socks, bed sheets and a pressing iron.
Female candidates are additionally required to bring black low-heel cover shoes, dark-coloured lounge skirts, black or blue short tights and trouser suits.
The NDA also directed all selected candidates to upload their O’Level results on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board portal before reporting to the Academy.
Candidates who were not offered their preferred academic departments are required to log into the JAMB portal and effect the necessary change.
The Academy further instructed all successful candidates to accept their admission through the JAMB Central Admissions Processing System before reporting to the institution.
It warned that newly admitted candidates would not be permitted to receive visitors or leave the Academy during the first three months of their training.
The Academy urged all selected candidates and their parents or guardians to comply strictly with the admission requirements and reporting instructions.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has defended the inclusion of a person under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in President Bola Tinubu’s campaign structure for the 2027 presidential election.
Wike argued that being investigated by the EFCC does not automatically bar an individual from participating in political activities or canvassing votes for a candidate.
The minister spoke on Wednesday during a media parley he hosted, which was aired on Channels Television.
His comments followed controversy over the inclusion of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, in the campaign structure for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Edu was listed as the Director of Women Mobilisation in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council. She was suspended by President Tinubu in January 2024 following allegations of financial impropriety and was subsequently investigated by the EFCC.
Wike questioned the criticism surrounding her appointment, arguing that an ongoing investigation should not be equated with a conviction.
“You (the media) were asking the moral justification of putting someone who has an EFCC case to be in a campaign council,” Wike said.
He added that it would be inconsistent to prevent someone under investigation from campaigning while people who had faced criminal cases were allowed to contest elections.
“Now, somebody cannot be in a campaign to canvass for votes for a particular person, but somebody who has an EFCC case can contest an election and win an election?” he asked.
Wike noted that there had been instances where individuals facing criminal allegations contested elections and eventually won.
“This person had an EFCC case in court, charged to court. He contested an election and became a governor,” he said, without identifying the person.
The former Rivers State governor further argued that even a person serving a prison sentence could express political support for a candidate.
“Even a prisoner… maybe they have somebody in prison. I go and visit the person. The person can tell me, ‘My brother, I want you to support so-and-so candidate.’ A prisoner has canvassed for vote,” he said.
Wike also referred to an unnamed individual allegedly linked to a coup plot, saying that the person had similarly participated in political mobilisation.
He questioned why someone being investigated by the EFCC should be barred from campaigning for a political candidate.
“I was watching, when Channels, when Sunrise, who came up to say, ‘Ah, how can somebody who’s being looked for as a coup plotter is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so government?’ Somebody EFCC is looking for is now canvassing for votes for so-and-so person,” Wike said.
He added, “But… a party, or a candidate cannot, simply because EFCC is investigating the person, cannot be a member of the campaign council to campaign for votes.”
APC Defends Edu
The controversy over Edu’s inclusion had earlier prompted the APC campaign council to defend her participation.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, a spokesperson for the campaign council, Kemi Asekun-Shittu, said it would be unfair to prevent Edu from participating in political activities simply because she was under investigation.
She stressed that Edu had not been found guilty of any offence.
“I’d like to say that for Betta Edu, for example, she has not been found guilty. And it will be unfair to ask that she leaves her life or refuses to live her life until the EFCC declares her,” Asekun-Shittu said.
She added that the former minister deserved an opportunity to re-engage with the party while awaiting the outcome of the investigation.
“We believe that there is very likely the issue that she may not be found guilty,” she said.
Asekun-Shittu further argued that every Nigerian was entitled to participate in politics, adding that the campaign council was an internal party structure and that the APC had the authority to determine who would serve on it.
She, however, noted that the list was not final and could still be reviewed.
Edu has not been publicly declared guilty of any offence in connection with the EFCC investigation.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has invited 3,852 successful candidates for physical screening and documentation as it concludes its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise.
The screening exercise will take place at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja.
The development was announced on Tuesday in a statement issued by the Deputy Comptroller of Customs and National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi.
The Service directed all shortlisted candidates to appear on the dates assigned to their respective states and cadres, stressing that attendance is compulsory.
Candidates are required to come with the original and photocopies of their relevant documents, including their National Identification Number (NIN), original birth certificate or declaration of age, and educational certificates such as O’Level, ND, HND or degree certificates, where applicable.
They are also expected to present a certificate of state of origin, two recent passport photographs, a completed guarantor’s form and an NYSC certificate, where applicable.
The candidates were further instructed to wear a white T-shirt, shorts and canvas shoes for the physical screening.
The Customs Service warned that any candidate who fails to appear as scheduled could be disqualified from the recruitment process.
The latest development comes nearly two years after the recruitment exercise commenced in December 2024.
The prolonged recruitment process had generated concerns among applicants, prompting the Customs management to apologise for the delay when the final list was released in August.
According to Adeniyi, the recruitment exercise attracted 573,680 applications, making it one of the most competitive recruitment exercises in the history of the Service.
Only 3,852 candidates were eventually selected for appointment across three cadres, representing a success rate of 0.67 per cent, or approximately one successful candidate for every 148 applicants.
The Superintendent Cadre accounted for 1,275 successful candidates from 276,995 applications, while 367 candidates were selected for the Inspectorate Cadre from 128,604 applications.
The Customs Assistant Cadre had the highest number of successful candidates, with 2,210 selected from 168,081 applications.
The figures mean that competition was toughest in the Inspectorate Cadre, where approximately one candidate was selected for every 350 applicants. In the Superintendent Cadre, the ratio was about one successful candidate to 217 applicants, while the Customs Assistant Cadre had roughly one successful candidate for every 76 applicants.
Earlier in the recruitment process, shortlisted candidates were required to update their information on the recruitment portal, upload medical certificates of fitness issued by government-recognised hospitals and accept their provisional offers of appointment.
With the physical screening and documentation now underway, candidates who successfully complete the exercise are expected to receive further instructions on the next stages of the recruitment process.
The Customs Service also renewed its warning against fraudsters seeking to exploit applicants.
Adeniyi stressed that recruitment into the Service was entirely free and advised candidates not to pay anyone in exchange for employment.
“No candidate has paid, and no candidate should pay, any person or group for a place on this list,” he said, warning that anyone who solicits money on behalf of the Service should be reported to the appropriate authorities.
The Comptroller-General also announced plans to introduce an annual recruitment cycle for the Service, ending the previous practice of conducting recruitment irregularly.
According to him, future recruitment exercises will follow a predictable yearly schedule and are expected to be completed within one calendar year, from advertisement to the release of the final list.
The 2026 recruitment exercise is expected to commence later this year.
Hundreds of youths and women on Monday took to the streets in Burutu, headquarters of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, protesting the poor condition of the government hospital and other deteriorating infrastructure in the area.
The protesters marched to the local government secretariat, where they accused the council chairman, Julius Takeme, of poor performance and neglect of basic amenities.
They alleged that the government hospital in Burutu had deteriorated to the point where it could no longer adequately serve residents, and called for the immediate deployment of qualified doctors, nurses and midwives to the facility.
“We are tired of dying in a hospital without drugs and doctors. The hospital building is also collapsing, yet the council chairman appears unconcerned,” one of the protesters said.
The demonstrators also demanded the construction and rehabilitation of roads and drainage systems across the local government area.
Other demands included improved electricity supply, as well as greater transparency and accountability in the management of council funds.
The youths expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the council administration and vowed to sustain the protest until their demands were addressed.
A protest leader said, “We will continue this protest until the LGA does the needful for our people. Burutu deserves better. We pay taxes and deserve basic services.”
The protesters also appealed to the Delta State Government to urgently intervene, particularly in the healthcare sector, to alleviate what they described as the suffering of residents.
However, as of the time of filing this report, there was no official reaction from the office of the council chairman.
As the 2027 Governorship election draws near, the heartbeat of Ndi Ebonyi are *sealing the deal for Anyichuks Odii*!
His records as a private citizen with no political appointment or contracts points to a candidate who lives determined life to change the People’s destiny. The records of a Nwifuru has shown that he’s not serious about governance, nor improving the lives of Ndi Ebonyi, hence the systematic shift to another candidate, and *ANYICHUKS ODII SEEMS TO BE THE BENEFICIARY*. The analysis points to a man who really cares, empathizes and will work to raise the hope and the realities the people expect.
His *Ebele & Anyichuks Foundation* has touched lives, built schools, provided houses for the underprivileged, provided scholarships for thousands, sponsor youths for sports training as well as various vocational trainings, and supported them with seed money, partnerd with farmers to expand their cultivation fields and supported them with millions to make their families more liveable.
*EBONYI WILL RISE WITH ANYICHUKS ODII*; no wonder the massive endorsements coming from all quarters; Igbo Groups and the Christian organizations because they have seen a man dedicated to their tomorrow.
Indeed the *Tomorrow of Ndi Ebonyi will rest in the arms of Anyichuks Odii*! Let’s not play it down.
Dr. Kenneth Okey Anozie
Political Strategist..
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