INEC Chairman Quashes Chitchats On PVCs, Explains IVED

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has urged Nigerians to disregard and discountenance a trending story stating that the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) issued in 2011 need revalidation.

Yakubu, who stated this in a statement his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, in Abuja on Friday, declared that the PVCs issued by INEC in 2011 and after could still be used by their owners in all elections.

INEC scheduled upcoming elections include those of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council, the Ekiti and Osun Governorship.

INEC particularly said that the card remains valid also for the 2023 General Election and therefore described as totally untrue the report that a “New Card Reader” would be used for the 2023 general elections.

In the words of Yakubu; “To be sure, PVCs issued in 2011 and after do not need any revalidation.

“It is also not true that the Commission will use the so called “New Card Reader” for the 2023 General Election. What the Commission intends to use is a multi-purpose gadget, known as the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED).

“It is currently being used for the physical registration of voters. During an election, it will facilitate the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which provides for both fingerprint and facial authentication.

“The device will also be used to upload individual polling unit election results to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) in real time on Election Day,” he said.

The INEC Chairman therefore urged members of the public to disregard the fake news making the rounds that the PVCs issued in 2011 need revalidation.

He stressed that there is no need to revalidate any PVC issued by INEC for election purposes.

In what looked like a sponsored story to meet the game plan of some politicians, an online publication titled “Important Information,” called on registered voters to check the back of their Voters Card, saying that if it was registered in 2011, they need to revalidate it at the INEC office.

The trending but misleading report further stated that new INEC Card reader for 2023 election would not be able to read the card thus, asked people to revalidate it to avoid disenfranchisement.