By Onyeanya Immaculata
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), will commence the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), this week ahead of the February 21, 2026, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Area Council elections.
INEC officials in Abuja said on Monday that the exercise is expected to run from Thursday to Sunday and will cover newly registered voters, as well as those who transferred their registration or updated their details during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), exercise.
The distribution follows the validation of 1,680,315 registered voters eligible to participate in the polls.
INEC suspended CVR activities in October 2025 to allow for biometric de-duplication, public display of the voters’ register, and the compilation of a supplementary list.
According to INEC records, about 93,868 PVCs remain uncollected at the commission’s FCT office. The commission said both newly produced cards and previously unclaimed PVCs would be made available at designated collection centres.
The Area Council elections will feature contests for 68 positions, six chairmanship and 62 councillorship seats across the six FCT councils. Candidates from 17 political parties have been cleared to participate.
INEC said it is also intensifying preparations, including voter education, campaign monitoring, BVAS deployment and security coordination, ahead of the polls.
