INEC may allow Nigerians without PVCs to vote in 2027

In a significant development ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed its readiness to allow eligible Nigerians without Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to cast their votes provided there’s a legal backing for the change.

Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, disclosed on Wednesday that while the commission is eager to leverage technology to widen voter access, any shift away from the PVC-only system must first be supported by legislative amendments.

“Our commitment to expanding voter participation remains strong,” Oyekanmi stated, “but we must operate within the bounds of the law. Until the necessary legal provisions are in place, PVCs remain the only recognized means of voting.”

This move builds on comments made by INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, during a consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja back in December 2024. There, he hinted at the commission’s interest in more inclusive and tech-driven voting processes for future elections.

Yakubu highlighted the growing role of technology, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, in streamlining the electoral process.

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He noted that while PVCs will remain valid for those who possess them, future elections could allow voters to use slips generated by INEC or downloaded from its official website for accreditation.

This shift, he said, would lower costs, ease logistical burdens, and curb the misuse of voter cards.

“The commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.

“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation.

“This will not only save cost, it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them,” Yakubu explained.

However, giving an update in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, Oyekanmi stressed that any change in the voting procedure must be supported by corresponding legal amendments.

“It is not our stand alone that is important. Equally critical is what the subsisting law says. While the commission is favourable disposed to the recommendation by stakeholders (that PVCs alone should not be the only criterion for voting at an election), the law needs to be amended to reflect it,” he said.

INEC may allow Nigerians without PVCs to vote in 2027

(Punch)

Air Peace suspends flights over NIMET strike

Air Peace has issued notification to suspend flight operations nationwide following the  ongoing strike by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

The airline in a statement said the decision is immediate.

In a statement by its Head Corporate Communications, Dr. Ejike Ndiulo , the carrier  said it  decision is necessary because NiMet , the agency responsible for issuing CNH (Current Nowcast of Hazardous Weather) reports, which are critical for safe landings, especially during this season of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, is currently not providing services.

Without these weather reports from the control tower, flight safety, the airline said cannot be guaranteed.

The statement reads: “As a safety-first airline, we have chosen to act responsibly by suspending operations until NiMet resumes full service.

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“We understand this may cause inconvenience, and we sincerely apologize. Passengers will be contacted with updates and options for rescheduling.”

Speaking on the NIMET strike, a senior NiMet management source said: “Management is disappointed with the hardline taken by the unions when some of the issues in dispute have been resolved, and others are in various stages of resolution.

“In a response given by management when the unions served it a strike notice, management stated all the issues and their status.

“It is surprising that the unions resorted to strike action because the unions themselves recently wrote and thanked management for its labour friendly policies. Makes you wonder if there are other motives or there are people bent on sabotaging management.

‘Management is not relenting in reaching an amicable resolution with the unions so that normal services will be restored. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo who has been supportive has scheduled a meeting with all the parties on Thursday, 24th of July, 2025. We are hopeful that the unions will listen to reason. No one bites off his nose to spite his face.”

Air Peace suspends flights over NIMET strike

Attackers of Benue communities not Nigerians, says Gov Alia

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, says the criminal elements involved in the recent killings across the state are not Nigerians.

He said they were found speaking unfamiliar languages and exhibit foreign characteristics.

Alia disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking as a guest on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television.

He was responding to the assaults on the state that have left scores killed and hundreds of residents displaced.

When asked about the identity of the attackers terrorising communities in the state, the governor said it was important to first clarify the nature of the threat.

“Let’s have the narrative very correct. We know Nigerians—by our ethnicities, we can identify a Fulani man, a Yoruba man, a Hausa man—we know them. Even the regular traditional herders, we know them. They work with cows, herding with sticks,” Alia said.

“But these folks [the attackers] are coming in fully armed with AK-47s and 49s. They do not bear the Nigerian look. They don’t speak like we do. Even the Hausa they speak is one sort of Hausa.”

The governor said intelligence from locals suggested the attackers could be foreign nationals.

“It’s not the normal Hausa we Nigerians speak. So it is with the Fulani they speak. There is a trend in the language they speak, and some of our people who understand what they speak give it names.

“They say they are Malians and different from our people. But they are not Nigerians—believe it,” he added.

Governor Alia said this marked a new and more dangerous phase of violence compared to previous confrontations with traditional herders.

“This is the second phase we are seeing. The initial ones were with the traditional herders. The traditional herders—we had fewer troubles with them.

“What we are experiencing has a new, different, strange face, and it’s now alarming,” the governor said.

“These terrorists are everywhere. We are under a siege. These people just come and hit and kill and run back. Where are they running to?”

He revealed that the attacks appeared highly coordinated and strategically executed.

“The way these killings are being planned and carried out is definitely coordinated,” he stated.

“Some local government areas in Benue share borders with Cameroon, and those borders are quite porous.”

The governor also said intelligence reports point to the existence of terrorist hideouts in parts of Taraba and Nasarawa states, as well as in areas within Cameroon.

“The terrorists have their havens in Taraba, Nasarawa, and in border regions of Cameroon,” Alia stated.

This came amid growing concern over a spate of attacks across Benue and Plateau states that have claimed dozens of lives, displaced entire communities, and deepened the security crisis in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

Two weeks ago, on the same show, Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, also raised fresh concerns about the identity of those behind the persistent killings in the state, revealing that many of the attackers do not speak any known Nigerian language.