The Independent National Electoral Commission in Plateau State has expressed concern over the low turnout of registered voters collecting their Permanent Voters’ Cards in the state.

Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mohammed Sadiq, lamented the situation at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Jos, the state capital, on Wednesday, saying it was disappointing that many registered voters had not collected their PVCs despite widespread sensitisation efforts.

Sadiq noted that the commission had made significant efforts to ensure that PVCs were available for collection, but many voters had yet to take advantage of the opportunity.

He said, “We keep on mentioning to the good people of Plateau State that the owners of the over 101,000 PVCs should come over because it will surprise you that in the last three months, only 1,004 out of over 101,000 came and picked their voters’ cards, which represents a 0.09% collection. That means that even one percent collection, we have not reached in Plateau.”

The INEC REC urged registered voters to collect their PVCs, emphasising that it was a crucial step in participating in future elections.

The commission also announced the timeline for outstanding activities, including the display of the preliminary register from December 15 to 21, 2025, and the handling of complaints on December 21, 2025.

The INEC REC identified two major challenges faced by the commission, which included uncollected PVCs and incomplete registrations.

He urged registrants to take advantage of the display of the preliminary register of voters to check for errors and make necessary corrections.

“The second phase of continuous voter registration will commence on January 5, 2026,” he added.

Sadiq thanked stakeholders, including traditional rulers, local government councils, and the media, for their support and urged them to continue mobilising citizens to participate in the electoral process.

He emphasised the importance of collective efforts in deepening democracy and ensuring free, fair, and credible elections in 2027.

“As you are all aware, the continuous voter registration exercise commenced on the 18th of August 2025 with the online pre-registration. One week after, that was the 25th of August 2025, the in-person (physical) registration also commenced.

“The registration and production of an accurate voter register are fundamental anchors of our electoral system. They are also primary functions of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) clearly mandates the Commission to conduct the registration of voters on a continuous basis. In light of the prevailing circumstances, the Commission wishes to inform the general public that the first phase of the continuous registration will end on 10th December 2025.

“This gathering is basically to commend and appreciate the unwavering and tremendous support the Commission received from you, the stakeholders. Your tireless effort in supporting the conduct of the exercise in your various capacities has yielded a very positive result. This is evident, going by the statistics recorded in the last three months, which show that we received a total of 76,451 applications and so far, we have 25,290 as new registrations.

“Those yet to be captured are 7,019; Incidences 44,142; Uncollected PVCs 101,200; Collected PVCs 1,004; Male (PVC collected) 394 and Female (PVC collected) 610 respectively,” Sadiq added.

The stakeholders’ meeting was attended by officials of political parties, heads of various security agencies and government agencies, religious and community leaders, among others. (The PUNCH)