The Independent National Electoral Commission in Lagos State says 116,745 Permanent Voter Cards are uncollected. The cards belong to newly registered voters. The Administrative Secretary, Adenike Tadese, disclosed the figure on Friday in an interview.
INEC has struggled with PVC collection for years. In 2019 and 2023, millions of cards went uncollected. The commission introduced decentralised collection at ward level. It also extended deadlines. In 2025, the Continuous Voter Registration exercise registered thousands of new voters. The cards were printed. Many were not picked up. The pattern repeats because the process is inconvenient and awareness is low.
Tadese said INEC received 177,295 PVCs from Phase One of the 2025 CVR in Lagos. As of Monday, 60,550 had been collected. That leaves 116,745 awaiting collection. She said the cards are available at local government offices. They cannot be collected by proxy.
She urged stakeholders to mobilise both old registrants and 2025 CVR participants. She said the collection window would close before the elections. She also said PVCs from the 2026 CVR would soon be ready. She appealed for orderliness during collection and peaceful campaigns.
The figure is significant. Lagos is Nigeria’s largest voter population. Uncollected cards mean disenfranchised voters. The 2027 election is in January. The window is closing. The commission can print cards. It cannot force people to collect them. Mobilisation is key.
Winners: INEC, which shows transparency. Stakeholders who mobilise voters. Political parties that drive collection. Losers: The 116,745 voters who cannot vote. Their communities, which lose representation. INEC, whose efficiency is questioned. The electoral process, which suffers from low participation.
Bottom Line: Over 100,000 PVCs are waiting in Lagos. The election is in January. Owners must collect them. INEC must make it easier. Stakeholders must mobilise. Democracy depends on voters showing up.