The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Osun State ahead of the August 15, 2026 governorship election.
The commission announced the decision in a statement issued on Saturday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.
INEC said the suspension would allow it to compile data on downloaded PVCs and prepare final statistics on the total number of voters who collected their cards ahead of the election.
The commission also announced that voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, 2026, to print their downloadable cards.
According to INEC, the deadline is necessary to enable it to conclude the compilation of downloaded PVCs and establish the final number of collected cards in the state.
PVC collection in Osun began at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026. INEC said the exercise was extended to July 31 following complaints over large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at some collection centres.
The collection was subsequently moved to the local government level and continued from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas whose cards were reportedly carted away by hoodlums who invaded the two collection centres.
INEC reiterated that the stolen PVCs could not be used to vote and urged affected voters to obtain their replacement downloadable copies within the stipulated period.
The commission reassured Osun residents of its readiness to conduct a “free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on August 15.”
In a related development, INEC has extended the deadline for political parties to upload their lists of candidates for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for the February 2027 general elections.
Haruna said the deadline, which was originally set for Saturday, August 8, had been extended to Tuesday, August 11, 2026, following appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the process.
