The INEC Chairman Insists: “No PVC, forget

By Kasim Isa Muhammad
Kanempress
26th January, 2023

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says that one would be permitted to cast a ballot in the general elections without a Permanent Voter Card (PVC).

Mr. Yakubu announced this at a conference sponsored by the National Association of Judiciary, NAJUC, with the following as its theme: “2023 General Election: Judicial and Sustainability of Nigeria’s Democracy”.

“There is a very disturbing trend which is the misinformation and disinformation on technological deployments by the commission in the social media space and some media houses picking up news bulletins on social media platforms to discuss on their morning shows and political programs without reaching out to the commission for its stance on such issues.

“One such is the recent viral assumption that PVC is not required to vote on election day. Let me reiterate the commission’s stance that Section 47 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022 clearly states that; “A person attending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a presiding officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.

“Therefore, the commission is legally bound to only accept the accreditation of a voter on presentation of a valid voter’s card.

“I urge media houses and journalists to always reach out to the commission to avoid spreading misinformation and disinformation obtained from viral social media posts.

He stated that the commission, for its part, maintained a robust social media presence and would keep trying to inform Nigerians and dispel this kind of false information.

According to the INEC Chairman, who was represented by Lawrence Bayode, Director of ICT in the commission said that no provision in the Electoral Act 2022 allowed the commission to register registrants to vote using the numbers on the Voter Identification Number, VIN.

He also informed Nigerians that the Bimodal Voter Registration System, or BVAS, was safe and that the commission had successfully fended off hacking attempts.

He claimed that a credible, impartial, and trouble-free general election will be delivered with BVAS technology.

“As with every aspect of our national lives, adopting technologies into the electoral process is always met with challenges.

“One major challenge was the lack of a clear-cut legal framework supporting the deployment of technology by the commission, especially in the accreditation of voters and the voting process.

“The deployment of the Smart Card Readers in 2015 and its use was faced with various challenges such as resistance to using in some isolated instances, snatching and destruction of devices, attempts to manipulate the use of the devices, and most prominently various judicial pronouncements on the legality of its use.”

Also speaking, Elizabeth Olorunfemi, Assistant Research Fellow, National Judicial Institute, NJI, in a paper presentation on “The Role of the Media in Election Reportage” stated that before publishing, the media should double-check the facts with the electoral umpire.

Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, also spoke at the occasion and emphasized that the court and the media were co-workers in progress who needed to collaborate to guarantee the country’s democracy was maintained.

Mr. Baba-Yusuf who was represented by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi said that the judiciary was always prepared to carry out its constitutional responsibility.