PVC Registration: Applicants decry long waits at INEC FCT Office

…As INEC Records Nearly 14,000 Registrations, Cites Shortage of Machines

By Favour Ulebor, Abuja

Prospective voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed frustration over long waiting hours, overcrowding, and delays at the Abuja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

The complaints come as the third and final physical phase of the CVR, which began on May 11, is expected to end on July 10, 2026.

When Vanguard visited the INEC FCT office in Area 10 on Wednesday, large crowds were seen waiting both inside and outside the premises for registration and other voter services.

The visit followed a similar observation last week, when applicants spent hours at the centre due to network failures that disrupted registration processes.

Some applicants said they arrived as early as 7:00 a.m. but were still awaiting attention several hours later.

An entrepreneur, Mazi Jideofor, said he arrived around 8:30 a.m. but had waited for hours without being attended to.

He criticized the process, saying it should have been more efficient.

“Nigeria is a giant of Africa. The process is a shame because this is supposed to be done through a portal system. There is a portal system on the internet, but sometimes the network is not good,” he said.

“I came here by 8:30 a.m. and we have been standing since 8 a.m.; this is 1:32 p.m.”

Despite the frustration, he said he remained determined to register and participate in the 2027 elections.

A youth corps member, who requested anonymity, also described the delays as discouraging. She said she arrived at about 7:30 a.m. and had spent hours waiting.

She added that she initially began her registration in Ondo State and planned to return there for the 2027 elections.

She said she visited the INEC office in Abuja to confirm whether her Permanent Voter Card (PVC) would be available for collection in Ondo after completing the process.

Speaking on the situation, the Administrative Secretary of INEC in the FCT, Mrs. Abimbola Oladunjoye, acknowledged the challenges but said improvements had been made.

She said nearly 14,000 people had been registered in the FCT as of last week Thursday.

According to her, earlier network disruptions affected operations but have since been resolved.

“Yes, I agree that at the time last week we had some challenges with our network and it has been solved,” she said.

She explained that the current challenge was the limited number of registration machines compared to the high turnout of applicants, especially at the Area 10 office.

“Maybe the challenge we have is that we do not have enough machines at this centre,” she said, noting that other registration centres exist across the six area councils of the FCT.

She added that the commission was working to deploy additional devices and possibly open a larger registration centre.

Oladunjoye also explained that restricting entry into the premises at times was necessary to manage overcrowding and prevent disorder.

“At times you come in and find like 200 people in this compound… we may not finish the number of persons even if we register from 8 to 4,” she said.

She urged residents to make use of INEC’s online self-service platform for transfers, PVC reprints, and data corrections, reserving physical visits mainly for fresh registration.

She also disclosed that mobile registration teams are deployed across communities in the FCT and said efforts would be made to improve public awareness of their locations.

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