2027 Polls: INEC Commences Deployment of Election Materials, Warns Voters Over Uncollected PVCs

With roughly two months to the January and February 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the movement of non-sensitive election materials to Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, warning registered voters that failure to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will impede their participation on election day.
​National Commissioner Prof. Rhoda Gumus disclosed on Thursday in Abuja that the Commission has completed nine scheduled activities on its electoral timetable and is transitioning into its critical operational phase.
​Speaking while receiving a benchmarking delegation from Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Gumus—who stood in for INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, currently in the United Kingdom presenting the Commission’s 2027 readiness at Chatham House—revealed that PVC printing is complete and most states have already received their first and second batches.
​”We can see from our tour that we are really going towards the election proper,” Gumus said, referencing Prof. Amupitan’s nationwide assessment tour across all six geopolitical zones concluded last week to troubleshoot logistical bottlenecks.
​Operational Readiness and Tech Rollout
​Beyond the early movement of non-sensitive materials and ongoing PVC distribution, Gumus outlined key pillars of the Commission’s field preparations:
​BVAS Deployment: Procurement and deployment of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines are actively underway.
​Personnel Training: Nationwide capacity-building programmes for INEC staff at both national and state levels are ongoing to strengthen field competence.
​Voters’ Warning: Gumus stressed that registered citizens without their physical PVCs will face major obstacles at polling units, urging immediate collection while distribution remains open.
​Diaspora Voting Contrast Highlights Benchmarking Visit
​The operational briefing took place during a high-level exchange led by the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Isaac Keen Parashina, whose team is studying INEC’s processes ahead of Kenya’s own general elections in August 2027.
​While Parashina praised Nigeria as Africa’s biggest democracy—noting that its electoral success holds continent-wide significance—the meeting underscored a sharp legal contrast between both nations. Kenya is currently working to expand out-of-country voting from 12 to roughly 26 countries following constitutional and court directives. Conversely, Gumus clarified that INEC remains legally barred from implementing diaspora voting in 2027 unless the National Assembly amends Nigeria’s existing electoral laws.
​To support the IEBC team’s study of special interest group inclusion and large-scale election management, INEC scheduled interactive departmental sessions with its directors.