Section 18
Power to issue replacement permanent voters’ cards(1) Whenever a voter’s card is lost, destroyed, defaced, torn or otherwise damaged, the owner of such card shall, not less than 90 days before polling day, apply in person to the electoral officer or any other officer duly authorised for that purpose by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, stating the circumstances of the loss, destruction, defacement or damage.
(2) Where the electoral officer or any other officer is satisfied as to the circumstances of loss, destruction, defacement or damage of the voter’s card, he or she shall issue to the voter a replacement permanent voter’s card.
(3) No person shall issue a replacement permanent voter’s card to any voter less than 90 days before polling day.
(4) Where the electoral officer or any other officer is satisfied as to the circumstances of the loss, destruction, defacement or damage of the voter’s card, he or she shall issue to the voter another copy of the voter’s original voter’s card with the word “REPLACEMENT” clearly marked or printed on it, showing the date of issue.
(5) Any person who contravenes subsection (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction, to a fine not more than N200,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than two years or both.
This section provides for the procedure of replacing a lost or damaged permanent voters’ cards (PVC).
The 2022 Act increases the timeline for procurement of a replacement voter’s card, now referred to in the law as a “replacement” not “duplicate” as contained in the repealed Act.
The process of replacing a card that is lost, destroyed, defaced, or damaged must be concluded more than 90 days before polling day. In the repealed Act, an application for a replacement voters’ card was to be made not less than 60 days before polling day.
The replacement process is as follows:
The voter shall apply in person to the Electoral Officer, or any other officer duly authorized by the Resident Electoral Commissioner.
The application shall be concluded at least 90 days before an election. Note that this timeline aligns with the conclusion of registration of voters and updates to the register as provided in Section 9 (6)
The applicant shall state the circumstances of the loss or damage
Then, he/she shall be issued with another copy of his/her original voter’s card.
The word “REPLACEMENT” will be marked or printed on it clearly.
The date of issue will also be printed on the new voters card.
See INEC article on Replacement of Lost Or Damaged Voters Cards https://www.inecnigeria.org/voter-education/replacement-of-lost-or-damaged-voters-cards/
