By PAUL ADAJI, Abuja –
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has explained that the
Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) issued by the Commission in 2011 and after do not need any revalidation for use in subsequent elections.
In a statement made available to NATIONAL ACCORD in Abuja on Friday, Mr. Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, said that such PVCs can still be used by their respective owners to vote in all elections, including the upcoming Federal Capital Territoy (FCT) Area Council Elections, the Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections, as well as the 2023 General Election.
“To be sure, PVCs issued in 2011 and after do not need any revalidation,” he stressed.
Oyekanki said it was also not true that the Commission would 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,”he said.
According to him, “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 therefore advised the general public to disregard the fake news making the rounds that the PVCs issued in 2011 need revalidation.
“There is no need to revalidate any PVC issued by INEC for election purposes,” Oyekanki said.
