The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 2,769,137 out of 2,802,790 registered voters in Anambra State have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of Saturday’s governorship election—representing a 98.8 percent collection rate.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday while addressing a press conference at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Describing the turnout as “a significant achievement for any election in Nigeria,” Amupitan attributed the high collection rate to the Commission’s decision to extend the exercise across all 326 registration areas, enabling nearly every eligible voter to obtain their card.
He stated that all uncollected PVCs would be “safely retrieved and stored at the Central Bank of Nigeria until after the election.”
The INEC Chairman reaffirmed the Commission’s readiness for the poll, assuring that adequate security and logistics have been put in place to ensure a peaceful, credible, and inclusive process.
According to the final data released by INEC, Oyi Local Government Area recorded the highest PVC collection rate with 99.82 percent, followed by Onitsha South (99.74%), Orumba North (99.51%), and Nnewi North (99.40%), while Aguata LGA recorded the lowest at 96.60 percent.
“All the 5,718 polling units will open simultaneously at 8:30 a.m.,” Amupitan said. “We are deploying the BVAS for accreditation and result upload to the IReV portal. Over 24,000 ad hoc staff are ready, and 6,879 BVAS devices have been tested, configured, and backed up.”
He added that more than 3,000 vehicles and 83 boats with security escorts would convey personnel and election materials, particularly to riverine communities, while the INEC Situation Room in Abuja will monitor operations in real time.
On election security, Amupitan revealed that the Nigeria Police Force will deploy 45,000 personnel, supported by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
