Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says collection of newly issued permanent voter cards (PVCs) will begin on October 9 ahead of the 2027 general election.
Amupitan spoke in Kaduna on Monday at the commission’s north-west zonal interactive meeting and readiness assessment with staff for the 2027 general election.
The engagement is part of INEC’s six-zone national tour to assess its preparedness for the elections, identify operational challenges and develop solutions ahead of the polls.
Amupitan said the commission is working to close operational gaps, strengthen neutrality and ensure that no avoidable weakness undermines the credibility of the 2027 elections.
“The true success of any election is not decided solely in the meeting rooms of our headquarters in Abuja. It is decided in the field,” he said.
He urged INEC staff members to identify practical challenges affecting election administration in their respective areas and work with the commission’s headquarters to resolve them before election day.
Amupitan said three phases of the continuous voter registration (CVR) had produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to verification through the automated biometric identification system.
He called for the elimination of bottlenecks in PVC distribution at the local government level to ensure that eligible citizens are not disenfranchised by logistical challenges.
The INEC chairman said the commission is also refining its technological systems, including voter verification and result transmission processes, as well as its result management systems.
He cited the recently introduced eEC8A as part of the commission’s efforts to improve its result management processes.
Amupitan also said INEC is implementing a “zero-failure” approach to logistics, covering the early deployment of materials, movement, security coordination and training of ad-hoc personnel.
He warned electoral officials against partisan conduct and administrative negligence, saying the neutrality and professionalism of field personnel would be critical to public confidence in the electoral process.
Earlier, Kudu Haruna, supervising national commissioner for Kaduna, said the zonal meetings were designed to enable the commission’s leadership to engage directly with its staff across the country ahead of the general election.
Haruna said the Kaduna leg of the exercise began with a courtesy visit by Amupitan to the Emir of Zazzau and chairman of the Kaduna State Council of Traditional Rulers.
He said the visit provided an opportunity to brief the traditional ruler on preparations for the 2027 elections and seek the support of traditional institutions in mobilising eligible Nigerians to participate in the electoral process.
According to Haruna, Amupitan informed the Emir that the collection of newly issued PVCs would commence on October 9 and appealed to traditional rulers to encourage eligible citizens to collect their cards and exercise their right to vote.
