The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern that politicians are now purchasing Permanent Voter Cards, or PVCs, in order to rig and undermine the credibility of the elections in 2023.
This disclosure comes as voters in the country’s 774 local government areas go to collect their PVCs. This process began on December 12th and is scheduled to end on January 27th, 2023.
Mohammed Haruna, the Acting Chairman of INEC and National Commissioner in charge of the FCT, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Plateau states, issued this warning on Monday during the launch of an election observer group, NESSACTION#YourVoteMatters ,’s project in Abuja.
Haruna disclosed that the Commission recently found two people guilty of illegally possessing PVCs in the states of Sokoto and Kano.
He emphasized that PVCs are now purchased by politicians and warned voters against selling their cards for any specific purpose because doing so is an electoral crime.
Some of you are fully conscious that INEC only recently succeeded in convicting two individuals who were discovered to have illegally possessed PVCs in Kano and Sokoto, he continued. As a result, I urge everyone to gather their PVCs, store them securely, and make sure to vote on election day. You cannot cast a ballot without a PVC.
