A voter's card lost between elections is easy to forget about, until a registration exercise or an election reminds you it is gone.
When a sworn affidavit helps
Some registration points ask for a sworn affidavit describing the loss before they process a replacement request. Others may only ask you to fill their own form.
Since this varies, treat the affidavit as something to have ready rather than something every centre will insist on. It costs little to prepare and can only help your case.
What it should say
Give your name exactly as registered, your polling unit if you know it, and roughly when and how the card went missing.
A commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a judge of the Federal High Court or a higher court takes the oath and stamps the affidavit. This is your own account, so give it in your own words rather than a vague summary.
Keep the description of the loss consistent with anything you tell INEC in person. A mismatch between the two is the kind of detail that slows a replacement down.
What INEC's own process needs
The affidavit supports your case; it does not replace INEC's own continuous voter registration process, which is where the actual replacement happens.
Bring whatever you can that identifies your old registration, such as your voter identification number if you remember it, along with your affidavit and a valid ID.
Confirm current requirements with your local INEC office directly, since processes and the documents asked for can change between registration exercises.
Keeping proof for later
Once you have the sealed affidavit, keep the original somewhere safe, not just a phone photo of it.
If you also lost other identity documents in the same incident, such as your NIN slip or driver's licence, you may need a separate affidavit for each one, naming that specific document.
A voter's card is also proof of age and identity for some everyday purposes, such as opening certain accounts. Losing it can ripple into those uses too, so replacing it sooner rather than later is worth the trip.
If you moved since you last registered
A lost card combined with a change of address is a slightly different case, since INEC also has a transfer process for voters who have moved polling units.
Mention both in one visit if they apply to you, rather than treating the loss and the address change as two separate errands on two separate days.
Common mistakes
- Assuming every registration centre wants the same documents. Ask locally rather than relying on what worked for someone else.
- Leaving out your polling unit or registration details when you actually remember them.
- Waiting until close to an election to start, when registration centres are at their busiest.
- Losing the sealed affidavit itself after going to the trouble of swearing it.
For where to swear an affidavit and what one typically costs, see our affidavit guides and affidavit of loss: where, how and how much. For the fuller cost picture, see affidavit of loss: cost in Nigeria.