Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) are purportedly buried underground in several locations, including the compound of a well-known person, according to videos spreading online. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has launched an immediate investigation into the claims.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, the commission made this disclosure.
Okoye, who claimed that the commission had been made aware of the video, said that INEC was not dismissing the accusations.
“We have commenced immediate investigation and anyone found culpable in this diabolical scheme clearly intended to disenfranchise Nigerians will be sanctioned under the law.
“Every eligible Nigerian who registered as a voter is entitled to his/her PVC. The constitutional right to vote in any election must never be suppressed or abridged in any way.
“As far as the record of the Commission is concerned, PVCs have been printed for all valid registrants in Nigeria up to Jan. 14, 2022, and delivered to all the States of the Federation for collection by voters.
“We will not allow retrogressive elements to sabotage our efforts,” OKoye warned.
Any democratic election, according to the national commissioner, must address the issues of voter registration, the creation of the voter list, and the issuance of PVCs.
The commission, according to Okoye, was making every effort to ensure that each and every eligible citizen who showed up in person at the registration location was registered.
He assured Nigerians that the issue will be investigated thoroughly.
“Already, the Commission is reviewing the procedure for collecting PVCs to make it less cumbersome and more transparent.
“This will be a major topic at the next regular quarterly meeting with stakeholders so that working together we can find a lasting solution to the issue.”
But he added that INEC had urged anyone who had discovered the purportedly buried PVCs to deliver them to the organization’s nearest state or local government office.
He claimed that this would be their patriotic contribution to strengthening Nigeria’s voting system.
