The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims that the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) issued to Nigerian voters are fake and have expired.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, had said that PVCs in the possession of citizens has expired although he later apologised for the comment. Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said all the voters’ cards issued by the electoral body are valid and subsisting.
“As far as the commission is concerned, all the PVCs that have been issued are valid and subsisting. As you are aware, the commission is engaged in a transition.
We have transited from the smart card readers to the BVAS.”
While noting that details of registered voters were on the PVCs, Okoye said the electoral body adopted the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). Okoye, who is also the Chairman of the INEC Information and Voter Education Committee, warned the electorates against double registration ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He explained that any attempt to register again is a clear violation of the nation’s laws and offenders would be prosecuted. When asked if PVC obtained in 2015 is still valid, the INEC official replied in the positive.
“If you have registered, even if your PVC is defaced, it is still valid. The only thing is that because of the fact that it has been defaced, you want to obtain a new one that is good.
“But if you have ever registered with INEC, your registration is still valid because your data is there. Your data has been uploaded into the BVAS,” he added. He also stated that Nigerian voters can check the status of their PVCs on INEC’s website.
