INEC: 2.97m Third-Phase Registrants Await PVCs as Commission Deletes 1.6m Invalid Records

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed to Nigerians who participated in the third phase of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to exercise patience over delays in receiving their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), revealing that production is being handled outside Nigeria.

The commission also announced the removal of 1,609,553 invalid and deceased voter records as part of efforts to strengthen the credibility of the national voter register ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, made the disclosures while addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja.

He explained that the records removed comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 verified deceased-voter entries.

“The Commission recognises that the detection of irregularities raises legitimate questions about how they arose. The response is evidence-led investigation, completed corrective action and stronger preventive controls.

“1,609,553 records have been removed, comprising 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 verified deceased-voter records. INEC will continue to communicate verifiable aggregate outcomes while protecting personal information and the integrity of ongoing investigations,” Amupitan said.

Third-phase PVCs to be distributed soon

Providing an update on PVC production and distribution, the INEC chairman said cards from the first and second registration phases, alongside transferred PVCs, were still being distributed at various local government areas nationwide.

He disclosed that some PVCs belonging to the third and final phase had started arriving and would be sent to the respective states by the following week.

According to him, distribution would return to registration areas across the country from December 1, 2026.

“The distribution of Phases 1 and 2 of the PVC and transferred PVCs is on-going at the various LGAs in Nigeria. Some of the PVC for the third and final Phase are being delivered and they would be dispatched to the States by next week.

“Meanwhile as from 1st December 2026, distribution will go back to the Registration Areas all over Nigeria. We appeal to those that registered in the third phase to be a little bit patient since the production is done outside the country,” he said.

Before the commission’s de-duplication exercise, 2,970,257 Nigerians had registered during the third phase of the CVR.

Audit exposes widespread registration fraud

The latest voter register clean-up came amid public concerns over anomalies discovered in the preliminary register displayed between October 9 and 15, 2026.

INEC said a comprehensive technical audit using its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) exposed suspicious registration activities, including unusual patterns, replacement of photographs and fraudulent multiple registrations.

The exercise also uncovered alleged complicity by some commission officials.

Amupitan revealed that 54 INEC staff members across 10 states were found to have deliberately violated standard operating procedures and exploited special registration arrangements intended for vulnerable citizens, including persons with disabilities.

He said disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against the affected officials, while possible criminal prosecution was also being considered.

Commission awaits certified court judgment on ADC/Atiku

The INEC chairman also addressed questions concerning court proceedings involving political actors, particularly the ADC and Atiku Abubakar.

He maintained that the commission would not take decisions based on unverified information or reports circulating on social media, insisting that only properly authenticated legal documents would guide its actions.

“On ADC/Atiku: as of today, we have not received the Certified True Copy of the court judgment and we don’t act based on what we see on the social media,” Amupitan stated.

INEC moves to address legacy voter records

Beyond the recent clean-up of its 2025/2026 registration data, the commission acknowledged that older voter records inherited from exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023 still contain historical duplications.

INEC said its board had directed that questionable entries from the earlier registration cycles should also be removed once verification is completed.

Reassuring Nigerians of the credibility of the 2027 elections, the commission said it would maintain strict accreditation procedures to prevent multiple voting and unauthorised participation.

It listed mandatory physical presence of voters and biometric authentication through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) among the safeguards.

The BVAS uses fingerprint or facial recognition technology to verify voters’ identities before accreditation, reinforcing INEC’s commitment to ensuring a credible electoral process.

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