Updated: INEC counters Tinubu, says permanent voters cards have not expired

The Independent National Electoral Commission has responded to insinuation that the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) issued for past elections have expired.

It insisted that the PVCs remained valid and warned against double registration which it described as a serious offence and could prevent offenders from voting in future elections.

The commission said this in response to the comments made by Senator Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

While hosting some of his supporters recently, Tinubu had claimed that there had been a decline in the number of eligible voters in recent times because the PVCs had expired.

He told them to take part in the ongoing registration.

But reacting, the Chief Technical Adviser to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Bolade Eyinla, said those who had registered for elections would not need to do so again because their cards are valid for future elections.

The INEC official warned those who had already registered against doing so again as the PVCs issued in recent years remained valid for all elections being conducted.

“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.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, said that Nigerians who already have their PVCs do not need to register again.

He said, “In fact, double registration is an offence under our laws. Eligible Nigerians are entitled to register only once. Once a name appears on 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’s a strong and verifiable proof that the person bearing the name has died,” Oyekanmi said.