2027: Makinde urges Nigerians to collect PVCs as voter register hits 103m

The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has urged Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Mr Makinde, who is also the governor of Oyo State, made the call in a video shared on his social media accounts on Tuesday, displaying his PVC and urging citizens to collect theirs.

“This is your power. Irrespective of who you want to vote for, let’s go out, collect your PVC, and you will use it wisely,” he said.

The governor’s call comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to commence nationwide PVC collection on Friday, October 9, 2026.

INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, announced the commencement date on Monday at a strategic workshop for media executives in Abuja.

Mr Amupitan also disclosed that Nigeria’s National Register of Voters had risen to more than 103 million ahead of the 2027 elections.

He said more than 10.6 million new applicants participated in the three-phase Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise conducted by the Commission.

The Commission has also completed the public display of the Preliminary Register for claims and objections and the final Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) cleanup of the register, according to the INEC chairman.

Makinde’s appeal

In his video, Mr Makinde urged Nigerians to participate in the electoral process regardless of the candidates they intend to support.

“Fellow Nigerians, INEC has set December 12th as the date for people to start collecting their Permanent Voter Card,” he said.

However, INEC announced October 9, 2026, as the date for the commencement of nationwide PVC collection at its media workshop on Monday.

In a statement accompanying his video, Mr Makinde also referred to the commencement of PVC collection and urged Nigerians to obtain their cards so they can participate in the 2027 election.

“INEC has confirmed that Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) collection commences on 9 October 2026. Please get your PVC so that you can participate in the 2027 election,” he said.

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Mr Makinde emerged as the APM presidential candidate in May 2026 and has since commenced activities ahead of the presidential election.

On Tuesday, his campaign organisation inaugurated its National Campaign Management Committee in Abuja, with the campaign targeting between 41 million and 68 million votes in the 2027 election.

Mr Makinde, who was first elected governor of Oyo State in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, is seeking to succeed President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

The latest voter-register figures indicate that more than 103 million Nigerians are now registered ahead of the election, while the commencement of PVC collection will allow eligible voters to obtain their cards before the polls.