Nigeria’s voter roll has passed 103 million names, and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is urging every one of them to go and collect the card that turns registration into a vote.
Main image: DGBN graphic. Photo: Iyusuf615 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Makinde, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate for 2027, posted a video on Tuesday holding up his own Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and calling on Nigerians to get theirs, according to Premium Times.
“This is your power,” he said. “Irrespective of who you want to vote for, let’s go out, collect your PVC, and you will use it wisely.”
INEC sets the date
His appeal follows an announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Speaking at a media workshop in Abuja on Monday, INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said nationwide collection of PVCs will begin on Friday, 9 October.
Amupitan said the national register now holds more than 103 million voters. The commission said more than 10.6 million new applicants took part in the three phases of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Makinde’s campaign sets its target
The call also doubled as a campaign moment. Makinde’s campaign organisation inaugurated its National Campaign Management Committee in Abuja on Tuesday and set a target of between 41 million and 68 million votes in the 2027 presidential election, Premium Times reported.
Makinde was first elected governor of Oyo State in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. He is seeking to succeed President Bola Tinubu.
Why the PVC matters
In Nigeria, being on the register is not enough. Voters must hold a PVC to cast a ballot, and millions of cards have gone uncollected in past cycles. A register of 103 million only matters if those cards end up in voters’ hands.
Turnout is the bigger test. DGBN has reported on a survey suggesting voter apathy may continue among Nigerian undergraduates in 2027, a reminder that Africa’s largest democracy still struggles to bring its young majority to the polls.
For Nigerians in the diaspora, who still cannot vote from abroad, the PVC drive is a reminder of how much depends on families and friends at home turning out on election day.