*INEC moves to legalise voting without PVC*
24th April 2025
By Gift Habib
The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed willingness to allow eligible Nigerians without Permanent Voter Cards to vote in the 2027 general elections, but insists that such a move must be backed by legislative amendments.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, told The PUNCH on Wednesday that the commission was committed to expanding voter access through technology, but emphasised that legal provisions must first be updated to accommodate any shift from the current PVC-only system.
The initiative followed remarks by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in December 2024 during a quarterly consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja.
Yakubu highlighted the growing role of technology, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, in streamlining the electoral process.
He noted that while PVCs will remain valid for those who possess them, future elections could allow voters to use slips generated by INEC or downloaded from its official website for accreditation.
This shift, he said, would lower costs, ease logistical burdens, and curb the misuse of voter cards.
“The commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation.
“This will not only save cost, it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them,” Yakubu explained.
However, giving an update in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, Oyekanmi stressed that any change in the voting procedure must be supported by corresponding legal amendments.
“It is not our stand alone that is important. Equally critical is what the subsisting law says. While the commission is favourable disposed to the recommendation by stakeholders (that PVCs alone should not be the only criterion for voting at an election), the law needs to be amended to reflect it,” he said.