The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that eligible voters who pre-register during the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise cannot obtain the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) outside the office of the commission.

It said that online registration alone was not enough to complete voter registration.

It said that the PVC could not be issued after the pre-registration process because the biometrics of each eligible voter would have to be done physically at designated INEC offices.

“For now, you can’t sort everything at home because we still need to capture your biometrics. If we are able to capture your biometrics online, then there will be no need to go to those centres.

“You will just do everything at home and you will be done. But we still need to capture your fingerprint biometric, so that is the essence for you to come to the centre for your fingerprint biometric to be captured,” INEC Director of ICT, Bayode Lawrence, explained on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.

According to him, while applicants can fill and upload some of their information online, physical presence at the INEC registration centres remains mandatory to complete the process and ensure the authenticity of the voters’ data.

The ICT director noted that this measure was necessary to protect the integrity of the voter register and prevent manipulation or duplication of records.

He, however, said that the electoral commission was working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to use data from the national identification card for future CVR exercises.

Lawrence said that eligible voters without internet access could register physically at the INEC local government offices.

He also said that a module on the INEC portal allows voters with damaged cards to report, get their details captured, and a new PVC provided for them by the commission. (Channels TV)