The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmoud Yakubu has reacted to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s claims that the current Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have expired.
Hetty’s Media had earlier posted a video of the presidential aspirant announcing to a group of women in Abuja that the current PVCs have expired and no longer valid.
Reacting to the claim, the INEC chairman’s spokesperson, Rotimi Oyekanmi refuted the claim credited to the national leader of the APC.
He revealed that a PVC has no expiry date, advised Nigerians to disregard the announcement and urged everyone who already has a PVC to keep them while those whose cards were missed or defaced could renew.
The INEC spokesman stated that double registration is an offence under the law and anyone caught will face the law.
He advised eligible Nigerians that haven’t registered for their PVCs to do so in the ongoing Continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR) exercise.
He said: “A PVC does not have an expiry date on it, therefore, it does not expire. As long as the security chip on it is not damaged, it remains valid. But if the chip is damaged, the holder can apply for a replacement.
“Nigerians who already have their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) do not need to register again. In fact, double registration is an offence under our laws.
“Eligible Nigerians are entitled to register only once. Once a name appears in the national register of voters, it stays there permanently.
“One of the very few instances where a name could be removed from the register is if there is strong and verifiable proof that the person bearing the name has died.”
Also speaking, the Chief Technical Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Bolade Eyinla, said that the information released by Asiwaju Tinubu is incorrect and misleading.
He said those who have registered for election do not need to do so again because their cards are valid for future elections.
However, Eyinla warned those who have registered not to register again because that will lead to double registration, which is punishable under the law.
“This information is not correct. The PVC issued to all previously registered voters remains valid. This kind of statement will certainly push eligible voters to register more than once thereby creating the problem of double and multiple registrations,” he said.
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