In a video that has gone viral, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, claimed that voters would need to revalidate their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) in order to be able to vote in the 2023 general elections.
It is the second time in three months Tinubu will be making such a claim which elicited response from the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).
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Tinubu made the recent claim while addressing supporters at a rally held to support his presidential ambition at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos, on Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Among those who graced the event include Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, and youth leaders across South-western states.
While urging those who have not registered to do so, the former Lagos State governor told his audience to go and revalidate their PVCs, saying the cards might have expired.
He said, “If you have no PVC, if you have no revalidation of that PVC, you don’t know whether it has expired. Don’t forget that there is expiry date even on your cashpoint so go and revalidate the card. Those of you who have not registered must go there. You can’t be part of 1.4 billion people on Instagram and have no card for God’s sake.”
The video which was posted by one of the major newspapers (not Daily Trust) on its verified Instagram handle had garnered 37,864 views and 1, 565 likes earlier on Monday.
Tinubu had while addressing a delegation of APC women who paid him a visit in Abuja few months ago alleged that PVCs currently in the possession of Nigerians had expired, prompting INEC to counter the claim.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, had while debunking the claim, said PVC is valid as long as it is not defaced, adding that double registration is an offence under the law.
“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,” Oyekanmi had said.
“Nigerians who already have their PVCs do not need to register again. In fact, double registration is an offence 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 strong and verifiable proof that the person bearing the name has died,” he added.
Tinubu afterwards tendered an apology in a statement by his Media Aide, Tunde Rahman.
In a message obtained from the INEC website, the Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, said registered voters could renew their PVCs in the Continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR) exercise if their cards were missing or defaced.
A defaced card means that either the information printed on the cards has washed off or the security chip on it is damaged.
Also, unlike the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards which have expiry dates printed on them, a look at both the front and the back of a PVC shows that it does not have an expiry date.
CONCLUSION: The claim by Tinubu that PVCs have an expiry date is false and should be disregarded.
This fact check was done in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
