Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu
INEC pushes for making PVCs no longer compulsory for Nigerians
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is pushing for a situation where the use of Permanent Voters’ Card will be optional, no longer compulsory in the next election.
INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the quarterly consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja on Thursday.
He explained that this can be made possible using computer-generated voting slips, adding that PVCs should not be the sole requirement for voting in Nigeria.
According to him, with the help of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), voting process can be made easy.
The INEC boss said with the conclusion of the off-cycle elections and the 2023 general polls, now is the right time for the commission to begin implementation of recommendations arising from the review of the last General Election.
”The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed.
“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation.
“This will not only save costs; it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them,” he said.