The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to claims by a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on the validity of the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs), saying the current PVCs have not expired.
Chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu made this known on Thursday in Abuja.
Tinubu while hosting some of his supporters, had claimed that there had been a decline in the number of eligible voters in recent times because PVCs have expired.
Apparently reacting to Tinubu’s claims, the commission said those who have registered for election do not need to do so again because their cards are valid for future elections.
The chief technical adviser to the chairman of INEC, Prof. Bolade Eyinla, who disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, warned those who have registered against doing so again as the PVCs issued in recent years remain valid for all elections being conducted.
His comments are coming a few days after the National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu urged Nigerian youths to go and check the status of their cards and ensure that they are ‘not expired’.
However, Mahmood reassured those who registered between January and March 2022 as well as those who are doing so until the end of the exercise that their PVCs will be ready for collection long before the 2023 elections.
“We have encouraged those who lost their voters cards or whose cards are damaged to approach any of the registration centres to apply for a replacement. Similarly, voters who had issues with their accreditation in previous elections have been encouraged to revalidate and update their information.”
“The claim that PVCs expire is misleading. Citizens are therefore advised not to register more than once as multiple registrations is an offence under the Electoral Act.”
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