The Independent National Electoral Commission has taken delivery of virtually all non-sensitive materials required for the 2027 general elections in Plateau State, with preparations underway for their distribution across the state’s 17 local government areas.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Samuel Egwu, disclosed this on Friday while briefing journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Jos, where he also appealed to eligible voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards ahead of the elections.
Egwu said the commission had commenced sorting and batching the materials according to local government areas to ensure smooth transportation and timely distribution.
“Virtually all the non-sensitive materials required for the 2027 elections have been brought to Plateau State. What we have done, as soon as we receive them, is to batch them local government by local government so that they can move without difficulty,” he said.
On preparations for the deployment of electoral personnel, the REC identified Electoral Officers as critical to the success of the elections, describing them as the backbone of the electoral process at the grassroots.
He explained that the commission had begun training programmes for different categories of election personnel, including Electoral Officers who did not participate in training exercises ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Turning to voter registration and PVC collection, Egwu disclosed that approximately 95,000 cards from the previous registration exercise remained uncollected in the state.
He explained that the outstanding cards comprised PVCs produced before the 2023 general elections, although some had subsequently been collected during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
“The first generation were those that were with us before the 2023 general elections, and there are about 95,000 of them. Some were collected by their owners during the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, but the number collected is still very small,” he said.
The REC further disclosed that PVCs produced during the first phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, conducted between August and December 2025, had arrived in the state.
He identified Shendam, Langtang North, Jos South and Kanam as the four local government areas covered by that batch, urging residents who registered during the period to visit designated INEC offices to collect their cards.
The commission has also received approximately 19,000 PVCs belonging to applicants who requested transfers to other polling locations, corrections to their personal information or replacement of damaged cards.
“We have received cards for those who sought transfers, those who corrected their biodata and those whose cards were defaced and requested reprinting. All these categories of cards, about 19,000 in number, are available,” Egwu stated.
He added that PVCs generated from the second phase of the registration exercise, which ran from January to April 2026, had also been delivered and distributed to the respective local government areas.
According to him, Electoral Officers in the affected councils had commenced issuing the cards to their owners.
However, Egwu said the commission was still awaiting PVCs generated from the third phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which ended in July 2026.
“What is outstanding for INEC to make available to us are the cards from the third phase of the Continuous Voter Registration, which ended in July. We are very hopeful that between now and the end of the month, those cards will be available,” he said.
To address difficulties associated with travelling to local government headquarters to collect PVCs, the REC said the commission had resolved to decentralise distribution to the ward level once the outstanding cards arrived.
He explained that the arrangement would bring the cards closer to registered voters and make collection more accessible.
“When those cards are available, the commission has decided that they will move back to the Registration Area levels, to the ward levels, so that people can easily collect their cards,” he said.
Egwu disclosed that the decentralised collection arrangement was expected to begin on December 1, subject to any further directive from the commission.
He urged eligible voters across Plateau State to take advantage of the collection arrangements and obtain their PVCs, stressing that possession of the card remained essential for participation in the electoral process.
