By Abuja, Nigeria
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has commenced the distribution of 128,396 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), ahead of the 2026 Area Council Election scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.
The FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Malam Aminu Kasimu Idris, disclosed this during a media briefing at the (FCT) Conference Hall of (INEC) in Abuja, where he briefed journalists on (PVC) collection and the Commission’s preparedness for the election.
According to the (REC), the in-person (PVC) collection exercise will run from Thursday, January 22, to Monday, January 26, 2026, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. daily across all 62 registration areas (wards) in the six Area Councils of the FCT. He added that collection would continue thereafter at the INEC Area Council offices.
Malam Idris explained that the PVCs available for collection include cards for newly registered voters, voters who transferred their registration within or into the FCT, those who requested replacements for lost or defaced PVCs, as well as cards from previous registration exercises yet to be collected.
He reiterated that the Permanent Voter Card remains the only valid document for voter accreditation, in line with Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), stressing that PVCs will not be issued by proxy and must be collected in person by their rightful owners.
Providing an update on voter registration figures, the (REC) disclosed that following the suspension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the FCT on October 12, 2025, a total of 106,855 persons registered as new voters.
”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, Malam Idris assured residents that INEC has 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, activation of BVAS devices, and the accreditation of observers, media organisations, polling agents and ad-hoc election personnel.
The (REC) noted that the Commission remains mindful of the unique responsibility of conducting elections in the FCT, given its population size, terrain and security considerations, assuring that these factors have 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.
