The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has unveiled a new digital training tool aimed at improving staff preparedness and operational efficiency ahead of the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, scheduled for later this year.
In a statement on Friday, the Commission announced the launch of the INEC Training Virtual Assistant, also known as “INECTrainingBot.” The innovation, available on Telegram, is designed to provide staff and stakeholders with round-the-clock access to election materials and interactive learning modules.
INEC described the initiative as part of its commitment to “smarter learning,” ensuring that personnel are “fully equipped for their critical roles” during the polls. The bot offers a user-friendly interface and flexible, on-demand training options tailored for both field and administrative officers.
The Commission’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, also confirmed that the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for newly registered voters in Anambra would take place between October 22 and October 26.
She urged all registered voters who participated in the recent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to collect their PVCs from the registration areas where they initially registered, stressing that PVCs would not be collected by proxy.
“All registered voters are urged to ensure they collect their PVCs within the specified period to be eligible to vote in the forthcoming governorship election,” Eta-Messi said.
INEC further announced that a mock accreditation exercise will be conducted on Saturday, October 25, across selected polling units in the state’s three senatorial districts. The test is aimed at assessing the performance of the upgraded Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and evaluating the efficiency of result uploads to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) ahead of the main election.
The Commission said the combined efforts from digital training innovations to voter readiness exercises reflect its broader commitment to transparency, efficiency, and the credibility of the #AnambraDecides2025election.