Presidential aspirant Asiwaju Bola Tinubu claimed that the present voter cards have expired while addressing some party women leaders in Abuja on Tuesday.
In response to the claim, INEC Chairman spokesperson Rotimi Oyekanmi refuted the former Lagos state governor’s claims, claiming that the present PVCs are valid.
He disclosed that a PVC has no expiry date, asking Nigerians who have gotten their PVCs to maintain them, and those whose cards were lost or disfigured to renew them.
Oyekanmi, on the other hand, claimed that double registering is a legal offense and that anyone discovered doing so will be prosecuted.
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. Double registration is an offense 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 the 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.
