INEC Denies Plan To Destroy 6m Uncollected PVCs

Independent Nation­al Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it will not destroy the six million uncollected Permanent Vot­er Cards (PVCs).

Gatekeepers News reports that INEC in a post on its X handle, advised the public to disregard the story published in a na­tional newspaper, insinuating it is contemplating destroying the PVCs.

According to the report; INEC was contemplating a policy to withdraw and destroy PVCs that were not collected for a decade.

The newspaper said the recommendation was among 208 proposals arising from the commis­sion’s review of 2023 general elections.

It added that the move stemmed from the per­sistent issue of unclaimed PVCs, with over six million cards still uncollected as of the 2023 elections, including many issued as far back as 2015.

The newspaper said stakeholders in the post-election review recom­mended that INEC addresses the backlog of uncollected PVCs by implementing a policy to withdraw PVCs that remain uncollected for extended periods, starting with cards issued in 2015.

Reacting, INEC said, “Our at­tention has been drawn to a newspaper report that the commission is contem­plating the destruction of over six million uncollect­ed Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) going back to the 2015 voter registration.”

“The report is incorrect. At no time did the com­mission contemplate the destruction of uncollected PVCs. The public is advised to discountenance the story.”