The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) have not expired.
The commission said this while responding to the comments of Senator Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
While hosting some of his supporters recently, Tinubu had claimed that there has been a decline in the number of eligible voters in recent times because PVCs have expired.
But reacting, the Chief Technical Adviser to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Bolade Eyinla, said those who have registered for election do not need to do so again because their cards are valid for future elections.
He had told them to take part in the ongoing registration.
However, Eyinla warned those who have registered against doing so again as said the PVCs issued in recent years remain 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.
On his part, 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 warned, “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.