Lost Your PVC? Details Wrong? INEC Wants You to Fix It—Here’s How

By: Oluwaseun Lawal

So, here we go again. Election season is creeping up. 2027 might sound far, but, honestly, it’s closer than you think. And if you’re one of those people who’s lost their Permanent Voter Card (PVC), or maybe your name’s spelled wrong, or your address is off—well, INEC says now’s your chance. Don’t wait till the last minute. You know how things get.

Friday morning. Umar Ibrahim, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, made it known to reporters. Without him mincing words. “Go fix your details. Replace your lost PVCs. Don’t just sit there and complain when it’s time to vote,” he says. Maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.

INEC’s rolling out the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) again. It’s not just for new voters, though that’s a big part of it. If you just turned 18, congrats, you can finally register. But it’s also for everyone else who needs to update something—maybe your name changed, or you moved to a new place, or your card got chewed up by the washing machine. It happens. No judgment.

Here’s how it works. There’s an online portal. You can start there, any time, day or night. cvr.inecnigeria.org. It’s open 24/7. But you’ll still need to show up in person for the biometric stuff. No shortcuts. No proxies. INEC wants to see your face, your fingerprints, the whole deal. They’re serious about it.

Physical registration? That starts August 25, 2025. Mark your calendar. You can go to the INEC State Office in Bauchi or any of the 20 local government offices. They’re open weekdays, 9am to 3pm. Not on public holidays, though. Don’t show up on a holiday and expect to get anything done. You’ll just be standing outside, sweating.

And it’s not just about you. INEC’s putting up the Preliminary Register of Voters every quarter. That means you can check if your name’s there, if your details are right, or if there’s some weird mistake. See something off? Say something. This is your shot to fix it before it’s too late.

But, of course, there are rules. No double registration. Don’t try to register your cousin or your neighbor. No underage registration, either. INEC’s watching. And if you get caught, well, the penalties are stiff. The Electoral Act 2022 isn’t playing around. You could get in real trouble.

Ibrahim’s voice is steady, but you can tell he’s seen it all before. People waiting till the last minute. People complaining about missing cards. People blaming INEC for things they could’ve fixed months ago. He’s urging everyone—especially in Bauchi State—to take this seriously. “Register. Update your records. Collect your PVCs,” he says. Simple as that.

He also promises that INEC’s committed to making the process fair and transparent. No funny business. No hidden agendas. Just a chance for everyone to get it right before the next big election. Sounds good, but, you know, Nigeria. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Still, it’s better to try now than to regret later.

So, what’s stopping you? Maybe you’re busy. Maybe you think your vote doesn’t matter. Maybe you just don’t trust the system. But here’s the thing—if you don’t show up, if you don’t fix your details, if you don’t collect your PVC, you’re giving up your voice. And when the time comes, you’ll wish you hadn’t.

Don’t wait. Don’t let your PVC get lost in the shuffle. Don’t let a typo keep you from voting. INEC’s giving you a window. Use it. Because, honestly, the next election will be here before you know it. And then, well, it’s too late to complain.