The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2027 elections will commence on October 9, 2026.

INEC made this known in a statement on Monday following an assessment visit by its chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, and his team to Kaduna State.

The commission said the visit to the North-West is part of its 2027 General Election readiness assessment.

Speaking in Kaduna, Amupitan directed officials to close operational gaps, strengthen neutrality and ensure that no avoidable weakness undermines the credibility of the forthcoming elections.

Daily Voice reports that the INEC Chairman gave the charge on Monday in Kaduna at the North-West Zonal Interactive Meeting with Staff and Readiness Assessment for the 2027 General Election.

The engagement is part of INEC’s six-zone national tour aimed at assessing the Commission’s preparedness for the elections, identifying challenges confronting its field operations and developing practical solutions ahead of the polls.

Declaring the North-West zonal engagement open, the INEC Chairman said the Commission’s presence in Kaduna was not merely an administrative exercise but part of efforts to strengthen the foundations of the country’s electoral process.

Amupitan said election success was ultimately determined at the grassroots, particularly at Local Government Areas, Registration Area Centres and polling units where electoral officials interact directly with voters.

“The true success of any election is not decided solely in the meeting rooms of our headquarters in Abuja. It is decided in the field,” he said.

He urged staff to use the engagement to present practical challenges affecting election administration in their respective areas and work with headquarters to develop solutions before election day.

The Chairman said the Commission was building on lessons from recent elections while preparing for the larger national assignment in 2027.

He warned electoral officials against partisan conduct and administrative negligence, stressing that the neutrality and professionalism of field personnel would be critical to public confidence in the electoral process.

The Chairman said three phases of Continuous Voter Registration had produced 10,772,421 new registrations, subject to Automated Biometric Identification System verification.

The Chairman called for the elimination of PVC distribution bottlenecks at the Local Government Area level so that eligible citizens would not be disenfranchised because of logistics.

He also disclosed that INEC was refining its technological systems, including voter verification and result transmission processes, as well as its Result Management Systems, including the recently introduced eEC8A.

The Commission, he said, was also implementing a “Zero-Failure” approach to logistics, covering early deployment of materials, movement, security coordination and training of ad-hoc personnel.

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has recounted how he narrowly escaped an alleged assassination attempt in Abuja while pursuing his ambition to become governor of the state.

Otti said about 12 armed men who came to kill him in July 2015 in Maitama, Abuja, missed him because he had left the location shortly before their arrival.

The governor disclosed this on Thursday during a solemn assembly and covenant renewal service organised by the Abia State Government in Umuahia to rededicate the state to God.

Otti said he was grateful to God for saving him from the alleged attack, adding that the assailants believed he was still inside the building when they arrived.

“They shot two persons. They were looking for me, but God had taken me away.

“They finished; they couldn’t find me. They were about 12.

“They jumped into the next compound and stripped the whole place. They thought I was there, but I had left,” Otti recalled.

The governor said the gathering was organised as part of efforts to rededicate Abia State to God and ensure that its affairs remained guided by God rather than fetish practices and secret societies.

 

Former Commissioner of Police in Niger State, Diseye Desire Nsirim, rtd, has died after a brief illness.

Nsirim died on Monday, September 21, 2026, in a hospital, according to the Niger State Police Command.

The late police officer, who hailed from Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, served as the 27th Commissioner of Police in Niger State between 2012 and 2014.

She was the first and, according to the command, the only female Commissioner of Police to have served in the state.

The command said that during her tenure, Nsirim contributed to crime prevention, public safety and the maintenance of law and order in the state.

It listed the dismantling of the Darul-Salam group in Mokwa and the busting of another terrorist group in Minna among her notable achievements as Commissioner of Police.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the command’s current Commissioner of Police, Adamu Abdullahi Elleman, commiserated with Nsirim’s family, relatives, colleagues and associates.

Elleman described the late officer’s contributions to policing in Niger State and national security as significant.

He prayed for strength and fortitude for the family to bear the loss.